EMBATTLED Ballarat trainer Archie Alexander has been handed a lifeline by Racing Victoria stewards with the decision to allow him to use Burrumbeet racecourse to train from.

Alexander already taken advantage of the new arrangement, working horses which have shown positive results to strangles in blood tests at the venue on Thursday.

Burrumbeet will be classified as an infected place during this period and no other horse can be worked at the course.

Alexander has been also given permission for his horses which have been given the all clear to be moved from his stables to two different isolated locations where they will remain under quarantine.

Alexander’s stables remain classified as an infected place. When all horses in his stable are cleared only then can Burrumbeet be reopened to horses from other stables.

PRICE EXPECTING EXTRA GRUNT
TRAINER Mick Price is expecting a return to Grunt’s favourite track, Flemington, to lead to an improved run in the Makybe Diva Stakes.

“All I’m looking for is for him to showup and be thereabouts,” Price said.

“He’s taking on a Group 1 weight-for-age field against older horses so I’m not expecting him to blow them away.

“He hasn’t been suited at Caulfield. His work has been good and Ollie was pleased with his work on Saturday and Tuesday.

“It’s going to be a good chance to assess where he’s at.

“Expectations are that he’ll start to improve.

“We’re going up in distance and getting him on the bigger track which he likes.

“He’s drawn a nice gate to have a nice run in the race so I think he’ll start to show up from Saturday.”

WILLIAMS WAITS ON THE CURRAGH
NICK Williams, speaking on RSN on Thursday morning, said Sunday night’s Irish St Leger at The Curragh over 2800m would determine whether Latrobe contests the Melbourne Cup.

Williams said they regarded Latrobe at this stage as more of a middle distance horse and he needed to prove he could stay.

He said he was a different horse to last year’s Melbourne Cup winner Rekindling, who was an out and out stayer.

MUSCLE TO BE FLEXED IN THE SHORTS
SPEEDSTER Ball Of Muscle will bid to defy age and a race hoodoo when he takes on top sprinter Redzel in The Shorts at Randwick.

The Joe Pride-trained gelding, a brother to Group 1 winner Tiger Tees and half-brother to Terravista, has finished second in the race for the past three years.

Ball Of Muscle resumed with an all-the-way win in Melbourne where he staved off Voodoo Lad and Brave Smash, who will again be among his rivals in The Shorts.

Ball Of Muscle will face a tough field on Saturday headed by reigning Everest favourite Redzel.