'The whole stable went under' - floods wreak havoc on Australia's east coast

As torrential rain wreaks havoc across much of Australia’s east coast, the impact on the racing industry has been enormous with tracks essentially being washed away, meetings abandoned, and trainers left reeling after record-breaking rainfall in some parts.

Leading Brisbane horseman Rob Heathcote could do little as the deluge inundated his base in Eagle Farm, Queensland.

“I’m at the lowest point of Eagle Farm, the whole stable went under water,” Heathcote said.

“Everything, including my office, all went under. We’ve been in the middle here for seven years and I’ve never seen anything like it; it all happened so incredibly quickly.

“I sat here last night and had a quiet glass of red wine on my own looking at my flooded stables; it was bizarre.”

Robert Heathcote: 'everything, including my office, all went under'Credit: racing.com Staff

Heathcote has been forced to shuffle horses around his facility to ensure they remain safe and says keeping the animals calm has been the top priority.

“It’s the same for every trainer pretty much across the east coast, you get a deluge like that, meetings get cancelled, races get cancelled, races added to new programmes – we’ve just to try and stay on top of things,” he said.

“At the end of the day there’s only so much you can do. It was a matter of keeping the horses calm, keeping them fed, clean water, still exercising them – my two walking machines have been invaluable.

“We had no track work here at Eagle Farm this morning, the first time in memory that I can remember that happening, the amount of rain meant safety became an issue.”

Heathcote’s filly Startantes was pipped in a close finish at Randwick on Saturday in the Group 1 Surround Stakes, but still the champion trainer could see the lighter side of his dramatic last few days.

“It’s funny, I said to a friend this morning I don’t know what was worse – being beaten in a photo in a Group 1, or being flooded,” he joked. “I think I’ll take the flood thanks."

'Within three hours on Friday morning the track was a metre under water'

For Heathcote and fellow trainers, the days ahead will be spent cleaning up and repairing and hoping for a halt in the rain.

“We’re now feverishly working away, the BRC [Brisbane Racing Club] have got their entire maintenance track team here at my stables, we’ve got front-end loaders, bobcats, and manpower digging boxes out and replacing the stable.”

Some 100km north, the downpours have been felt just as hard. At Kilcoy, the racecourse has been entirely submerged.

“We had a flood right over, at least a metre deep,” Kilcoy racing Club president Con Searle said.

Kilcoy racecourse in Queensland, Australia, is fully under waterCredit: racing.com Staff

“You've no idea how quick it came up. Within three hours on Friday morning the track was a metre under water.

“It was incredible, usually it comes up gradually, but this time it came down in one big hammer. I don’t think we’ll be able to mow the track for a while, it’s very wet. As soon as we can we’ll try and get it back to as splendid as it was before.”

Such is the damage caused by the rain that the club’s meeting in April is under serious doubt.

“We're supposed to have a meeting in April. It depends how much rain we get in the next week or fortnight. It’s going to be a pretty big job, a real challenge – but we’ll be trying to get there.”

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