Great to see some of the top jocks back in action this week

There is still a chill in the air and the ground is heavy on a lot of tracks but there are some spring shoots beginning to show. The return of some of the top hoops in the business this week tells us that the new season is just around the corner. 

The winter has ticked over quickly and we are almost around to another season. We are looking forward to taking on the horse racing bookmakers in the Group 1 races once they swing back around. That will not be all that long with some of the top hoops starting to emerge again after their winter breaks. We are very much looking forward to getting stuck into the new season in a couple of weeks. 

J-Mac returned on Wednesday 

After missing three weeks of action, James McDonald was back in the saddle on Wednesday at Randwick Kensington. With only two weeks left of the season, McDonald has seen his lead in the Jockeys Premiership get cut to three over Nash Rawiller. 
 
Gallstones were found to be the cause of the stomach issues that saw McDonald stood down at the end of June before a planned holiday and a trip to Hong Kong left the door open. Nasher struck first on Wednesday courtesy of Little Cointreau but McDonald hit straight back to maintain the gap. 
 
If it were not for the title going down to the wire, it is possible that we would not have seen J-Mac again until the new season. With the title on the line, however, he is back and perhaps we will see a touch more of him at the smaller midweek meetings in the next fortnight than would normally be the case. 

Melham and Kah make their returns 

After an exceptional South Australian Carnival, Jamie Kah has had some time away to recharge the batteries, including a trip to Bali with her fiance, Ben Melham. He has been on the sidelines himself for three months after a fall at Caulfield. 
 
That left him with a split quad, an injury that left him unable to walk for a short period of time. A long and painful rehabilitation ended successfully after that Caulfield fall and he returned to race action on Wednesday at Sandown.  
 
A half-length second on Holly Lolly was the closest that Melham got to saluting but getting the reps in again before the spring starts is going to prove invaluable to him. Kah will return this weekend at Flemington having not had a ride since June 8 with seven rides. 

Still waiting for Zahra and Williams to return 

June 15 at Eagle Farm was the last time that either Mark Zahra or Craig Williams took a ride in public. Both of them will be expected to be back in action soon as the calendar ticks towards the start of the spring carnival but there is no date set in stone just yet on when the pair are expected to be back in the saddle.  
 
Williams has been busy since last riding with his humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. The 47-year-old still fired in 76 winners this season. Not at his very peak but there is still plenty of life in him and he should be saluting in more Group 1 contests when he is back.

The season has flown by, with just two weeks left until we move into August and start another one. This week, that feels an awful lot closer with the return of some of the big names to the saddle. Not long now until we head back to the top-notch Group 1 action once more.