Flooding fears eased for Warwick Farm, but warnings still in place for Hawkesbury
Industry participants across New South Wales have continued to be affected by severe flooding, as evacuation notices were issued for parts of south west Sydney, including Warwick Farm.
Residents were ordered to leave by 3am yesterday morning, however, trainers at the west Sydney racecourse are reported to have emerged largely unscathed from the severe rainfall.
“It’s been a stressful 24 hours here at Warwick Farm,” said trainer Bjorn Baker in a post to Instagram.
“Thankfully we’re ‘A OK’ at this stage. A big shout out to my team and staff that are here, pretty much overnight. The ATC and Racing NSW have been very supportive too. It looks like the initial danger is over and at the moment all staff and horses are safe and well, which is the main thing.”
Speriamo Bloodstock, who has horses in training with Warwick Farm-based handler Gabrielle Ellis, in a post to Twitter said their horses had been able to get out on track yesterday morning, while the trainer said she had never seen the river levels so high.
“SW SES sent out an evacuation order for Warwick Farm Racecourse last night, but after pumping the water and mud out of the underpasses our girls are out and about,” the post read.
Severe weather warnings for Sydney and the Illawarra have now been cancelled, the Bureau of Meteorology said, reporting that the Georges River in Liverpool had peaked at 3.47 metres and flooding was no longer expected.
Warnings remain in place in areas along the Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers, with some trainers at the racecourse having evacuated their horses to Inglis’ Riverside complex.