Margaret McDonald, wife of the late Ross McDonald, has been granted a licence to train gallopers and she will prepare a small team at Caulfield.

Margaret was never far from her husband's side during the trainer's halcyon days during the 1980s when Group One winners flowed from their stable.

While the good times included Caulfield Cup and Golden Slipper victories, there was also lean periods until Weekend Hussler burst on to the scene in 2007.

Margaret comes from a family steeped in racing history.

Her father Bon Hoysted trained Manikato to win the 1978 Blue Diamond-Golden Slipper double while her grandfather Fred Hoysted trained Rising Fast.

She said she was talking to one her late husband's long-serving owners and close friend Keith Murphy when he encouraged her to take out a licence again.

"Hopefully I'll have some fun out of it," she said.

"I'm still trying to get my mojo back after Ross' death."

She said she would take over the training of Murphy-owned two-year-olds Love Days and Nickleby but there were no plans are no plans to increase her numbers beyond "two or three" horses.

Her son Clinton took over the running of the family stable when Ross died in December.