David Hayes will continue to train in Victoria for as long as the industry is running before completing his shift to Hong Kong.
The champion trainer was set to return for another stint in Hong Kong, leaving the Lindsay Park operation to son Ben and nephew Tom Dabernig.
But the Coronavirus pandemic has put his initial plans on hold, with quarantine restrictions making movement between Australia and Hong Kong tricky.
“I had planned to be in Hong Kong for three one-week stints, setting up the stable, getting owners, meeting owners to have prospective horses, to do sales,” Hayes told RSN927.
“Unfortunately, I can’t go to Hong Kong just at the moment. I have to do two weeks lock in when I get there and two weeks lock in when I get back.
“It’s just not practical. I am going to train here as long as racing is on, and then when racing is finished, I will go lock myself up in a hotel for two weeks.
“As I am a Hong Kong permanent resident anyway, I haven’t got a problem getting into Hong Kong. Then I will kick off.
“But I will have to have two weeks in jail, which in Hong Kong is very strict in a hotel room.”
