Leading apprentice Tim Bell has declared his fitness and is fully focused ahead of his metropolitan comeback at Eagle Farm following a short hospital stay and a mystery stomach bug.
Bell, who has four rides on Wednesday, was serving a careless riding suspension when admitted to hospital with pneumonia earlier this month.
“I was in hospital for two days a week after the Magic Millions,” Bell said.
“Then after I was discharged I got crook last week with a stomach bug and spent most of my time in the bathroom.
“I’m still not sure whether it was food poisoning or some other sort of stomach bug or maybe a reaction to the antibiotics I was given in hospital.”
Bell’s suspension ended last Friday and he had planned to ride at Doomben last Saturday.
“I rode trackwork on Saturday but I wasn’t right and kept going to the toilet all morning,” he said.
Bell, who turns 19 on Saturday, rode a winner in his comeback at Caloundra on Sunday before being forced to stand down from two commitments later in the day.
“I was fortunate to ride a winner at Caloundra but I still wasn’t well enough and had to stand down from my last two rides,” he said.
“I’m right now and I’ve got some good rides on Wednesday. I’m fully focused again and I can’t wait to get back.”
Bell tested his fitness when he rode in several barrier trials at Toowoomba on Tuesday.
“Our Patinack Farm track (at Canungra) is too wet to work horses so we took 21 horses to Toowoomba to barrier trial this morning,” he said.
Eagle Farm was a heavy 10 on Tuesday but with no rain falling on the course since the weekend, course manager Bill Shuck was hopeful of an upgrade.
The John Thompson-trained Start Again, who lines up in the Racing Retro Handicap (1600m), looks the pick of Bell’s mounts.
The five-year-old, who has two wins from three starts in heavy going, is stepping up to 1600 metres for the first time in his 16-start career.
Patinack Farm’s Gold Coast foreman Brett Killion is confident the son of Reset can break through at his fourth start this campaign following his last start third over 1350 metres at Doomben on January 18.
“He’s been looking for 1600 metres and was unlucky last start when he was trapped wide,” Killion said.
“He gets back normally in his races but over the extra distance he should be able to travel a little closer.”