Zac Phillips will today return to the sulky for starts 4951 and 4952 at Kilmore, ending an eight-month trots sabbatical.
Phillips will steer two tonight, beginning with Deadly Error in the Momentum Gaming 2YO Pace at 6.03pm, drawing the close on an absence from the sulky that stretches back to December 10, when he steered Ideal Tiger to fifth at Manawatu.
The talented multiple Group 1 winning reinsman joined both RSN 927 and SENTrack this morning to talk about his return, and told the latter there was no "lightbulb moment" that prompted his comeback.
"I gave it away and was tired and needed a break and a mental freshen up," he told Talking Trots on Track. "I was talking to (my partner) Tayla (Nicholson) and my old man last week about thinking about coming back. With the new restrictions and limited drivers in my region I thought now was as good a time as ever."
The Caroline Springs resident, who slots into the Melbourne & Surrounds region, which encompasses Melton, Kilmore and Cranbourne, said the time off "was great".
"It was the best thing I ever did for myself, I don't regret doing it for one minute," Phillips said. "I didn't do a great deal. I just needed to get that passion and drive back for the trots and that time away sure helped with that.
"All I knew was I needed a break, whether that break was for a month or whether it was for 10 years, I honestly had no idea.
"I'd left school at 15 to become a trotting driver and never did anything else - I just wanted to explore other avenues and see whether I liked doing anything else. I just wanted to give it a go and see whether I liked what other people call a normal lifestyle. I definitely didn't.
"The grass isn't always greener on the other side and I really look forward to coming back and doing something that I was really passionate (about) and something I suppose I was meant to do."
CLICK BELOW TO HEAR THE RSN 927 INTERVIEW WITH GARETH HALL:
CLICK BELOW TO HEAR THE SENTRACK INTERVIEW WITH JASON BONNINGTON & BLAKE REDDEN: