RACING`S BACK BUT WHERE HAVE THE PUNTERS GONE?

We`re back, and boy are we back! Racing has returned from the dark shadow of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) with a bang, and the game of catch-up comprises eleven meetings in six days.

Aidan O`Brien had mixed fortunes after the resumption at Leopardstown, with three beaten odds-on chances balanced by Galileo`s rise to the top of ante-post lists for the Vodafone Derby. The Sadler`s Wells colt took the Listed Ballysax Stakes with the minimum of fuss, while stablemate Pebble Island could yet develop into `a Derby horse` after a successful debut on the same card.

O`Brien blamed the combination of testing ground and lack of peak fitness for some of the disappointments, and believes Galileo must be a serious machine to impress in the circumstances.

The domestic Guineas trials have extra significance this year, with the likely prospect of no English runners due to the FMD outbreak. This situation gives some of the smaller stables a big chance to feature, and the John Hayden-trained DrBrendler - affectionately described as `a bag of bones` by his handler - did his 2,000 Guineas prospects no harm when scoring at the Foxrock venue.

Rebelline, from the in-form Kevin Prendergast stable, must rate a leading contender for the 1,000 after a runaway success in the fillies Trial. Meanwhile, Con Collins` Softly Thread advertised her claims for the same race by maintaining her unbeaten record in the Gladness Stakes at the Curragh.

Dermot Weld has also made a very bright start to the new Flat season, and the highlight of a five-timer on Saturday`s two cards was the victory of Tarry Flynn in the Lincoln. The seven-year-old gelding, owned and bred by the trainer`s mother Gita, also won this competitive handicap in 1999.

An old friend returned to National Hunt racing at Gowran Park on Wednesday when Colonel Yeager overcame an absence of 721 days to conquer a useful field including Moscow Flyer. Cathal Ryan`s smart hurdler has joined Ted Walsh after former handler MartinLynch sadly decided to leave the training ranks, and connections all round deserve credit for producing the gelding in great order.

This column can often be the prophet of doom but attendance and betting figures over the past week must be a worry to the industry. The gap of 50 days due to FMD raised the prospect of bumper crowds, weighed down by large wads of notes, filing through the turnstiles on Easter Monday.

There was a good turnout at Cork but once again the punters down south were very reluctant to put their hands in their pockets. The crowd of 5,586 at Leopardstown the same day was certainly disappointing, and the trend has continued.

The three-day meeting at Listowel lacked any atmosphere, with more runners than backers. I would imagine a lot of the horses might not be seen again for sometime after collapsing over the line in what resembled a quagmire. In fairness to the North Kerry track, they can hardly be held responsible for the weather (why does it always seem to rain in that part of the world?) or the clashes with the Curragh.

(Here comes the doom and gloom bit) Racing can`t presume that punters will turn up just because of a 50 days starvation diet. Confidence is a fickle commodity, and the signs are there of a slow down in the economy.

Have you tried to sell a house recently? It`s no longer a matter of the auctioneer just putting up a `for sale` sign. Farming seems to be hit by one crisis after another (BSE, FMD ? etc), while the Labour Relations Commission is now the place to look for a job. Can you keep count of the amount of strikes at present?

A nervous eye is peeled on the latest trends from America due to our growing dependence on the hi-tech computer industry, while investing in the stock exchange is probably dead-heating with Russian Roulette on the Richter scale of risk. The marketing gurus at the IHA will have to earn their corn in the next few weeks, and the upcoming Fairyhouse Festival will prove an important barometer in the battle to lure back the floating punter.

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