RACING: Mick Quinn was back in the training ranks yesterday after the Jockey Club rubber-stamped his reapplication for a licence. The former Portsmouth, Coventry and Newcastle footballer was hit with an 18-month suspension in June 2001, following an inquiry into allegations he had neglected three of his horses.

"It's a relief to get it back," a delighted Quinn said yesterday. "Apparently I'm licenced from today but there's a lot of paper work I've got to send in to them about horses I've got in training and so I think it'll be a couple of weeks. We've got 14 in at the moment - one jumper and the rest are a mixture of yearlings and Flat horses. It's a big relief to get back in the sport."

During his enforced lay-off, Quinn spent time at the now-retired Graham McCourt's yard, and he added: "We kept half a dozen horses together to keep in training and took them all to Graham's, who is the nearest trainer and a friend as well.

"I got a little bit more involved in the National Hunt side of things and kept a nucleus of half a dozen good owners together, combined with some media work to bring in a few quid. We've worked very hard for this moment today.

"I've been trying to put my house in order to start again and this day couldn't come quick enough."

Although out of the training ranks, Quinn has been a regular pundit on the airwaves, having hosted the breakfast show on Talksport over the Christmas period, as well as appearing regularly on the Racing Channel.

"They've been good to me and given me a lot of work, I enjoyed doing it as well," he said. "I'll probably continue to do some media work because when you're on the smaller scale of trainers it's hard to make things work.

"I'm being very positive and looking forward to my first winner."