Winning Post-1500m: Even wear from last meeting but not an abundance of it. Only two of the nine races go through this section so can't see it playing a role in any pattern. Walked a '4' at the time of walking but after the overnight rain (15mls) I've no doubt it would be in the '5' range.
1500-800m (back straight): This area of the track usually presents well as they run in a straight-line for most of it. Coverage is solid and it walks well. Couldn't find any lanes of advantage but it did feel like there was plenty of give in it, and that was before the rain. I'd say it would be on the softer side of a '5'.
1400-800m (chute): Slightly more wear in lane 3 but it's not heavy enough to cause any unusual positioning. You can definitely notice more wear in lanes 1 and 2 from the 1100m mark to just inside the 1000m.
800m-400m: The rail was in the 3m position here last meeting and you can notice a little more wear across the inside two lanes with the rail in the 6m position for Saturday. There was plenty of give in it at time of walking and I thought it was already closer to a '5' so tipping it's closer to a '6' by now. I wouldn't stake my life on it but there's a chance lanes 3,4,5 are slightly superior here. The outer half of the track has a lot more wear if any swing too wide.
400m-Winning Post: Additional wear across the outside half of the track is noticeable through trackwork and jump outs. There's more sand fill and it's less consistent than the inner half. Coming back closer to the fence you can also notice some wear from the meeting last Saturday. I thought the best lanes might be lanes 2,3 and 4. After the rain I'm expecting this section to be a genuine '5'.
Verdict: Always hard to be confident when you get solid rain between time of walking and race day but I'd imagine the track will be a genuine '5' and no better. I'm expecting lanes 5,6,7,8 to be inferior from the 600m mark which might make it tough to loop them out wide unless you pull really wide. However, I did notice more fill in lanes 1 and 2 so perhaps we'll see winners coming just off the fence in lanes 3,4,5 before it evens up with racing. Last Saturday the rail was in the 3m position for the entire and the track raced well, albeit it was difficult to loop the field from the back. We move out to the 6m position from the 1000m mark on Saturday. Interestingly, we had two meetings on the Parks track in September and the rail was in the 7m position on both occasions. The fence was inferior ground on both days, which gives me a little more confidence in predicting better ground a couple off the rails for the early part of the card at least.
R P Barwick, L Borthwick, T P Johnston, T I Jones, M W Lawrence, M W Lewis, A Martin, J Newton, C A Papworth, Mrs W L Stayner, M F Wallace, D J Weber, P S Johnston, Ms H A Peck & P A Stoneham, The Grand (Mgr: P V Morley), Helkien (Mgr: Mrs H P Klein), Red Tins (Mgr: A Adams) & Fifteen Dollar
Red, Black Maltese Cross And Sleeves, Red Armbands
Owners
B Jones, L Fuller, Ms S Fuller, J Trinne, L Thomas, M Thomas, D Thomas, L Allen, P Richens, J Turci, J Allen, S Reid, D Freer, P Brook, C Bateson, A Pittaway, H Connor, L Pansini & Ms R Kidman
A J Hehir, D W Rasheed, S C S Watts, C R Cowan, D Smith, J S Atkinson, R J Danzic, B T Corcoran, R I Chapman, Ms K P Pavelic, Bookies Delights (Mgr: Mrs C J Mcauliffe) & Slainte Racing No 2 (Mgr: A J Hehir)
S G Mauger, R M Harvey, I G Mathieson, A J Halloran, Dr D A Worthley, M A Snowden, M J Ostermeyer, Mrs J Edington, D J Bates, Mrs M D Bates, Mrs J A Hudson, B Hudson, W E Muller, T R Wyld, Mrs F Field, Mrs C A Mathieson, Ontrack Thoroughbreds No 1 & Haimes Racing
