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After more than three months without action at Sydney's premier track, racing returns to Randwick today.
The headline attraction is star sprinter Takeover Target, who will usher in the post-equine influenza era by making a return of his own.
It will be an early Christmas present for an industry brought to its knees by EI and also for race-starved punters who are expected to turn up to Randwick in their droves.
The Australian Jockey Club is anticipating a crowd of around 25,000 to celebrate racing's return to Sydney.
Takeover Target's regular jockey Jay Ford will reunite with the best horse he has ridden and, like racing fans, he can't wait to see the Joe Janiak-trained eight-year-old back in action.
Today will mark Takeover Target's first start since his second to Soldier's Tale in the group one Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, England, in June and his first Sydney appearance since April.
"It's good to have him back at the races," Ford said last night.
"He never lets anybody down. He always runs well.
"To have not only him but Dance Hero in the race and to have attracted a couple of quality horses like those two will really boost the program.
"They're a couple of star attractions." Plans to campaign Takeover Target in Melbourne this spring were thwarted by the EI outbreak which led Victoria to close its borders to New South Wales-trained horses.
But today Melbourne's loss will be Sydney's gain when the A$1300 bargain buy steps out in the Arrowfield Quality Handicap (1200m) and aims to take his stakes earnings to more than A$4.4 million.
"Unfortunately, he wasn't able to go to Melbourne and run in Melbourne," Ford said.
"This is what he's been presented with and it's just going to be good to hop on his back again and go around."
Randwick was the first training centre to be struck down by EI when horses from the stable of Anthony Cummings tested positive to the virus on August 30.
There has been no racing there since August 11 and, with the exception of a couple of restricted meetings, no racing in Sydney since August 22.
Many of Sydney's thoroughbreds are still working their way back to fitness and the majority of trainers - including Bart Cummings, John Hawkes, John O'Shea, Clarry Conners and Guy Walter - won't have runners.
The EI virus brought racing in Brisbane to a halt but it, too, will commence racing at Doomben where a strong card is programmed.
- AAP
