Winning Post-1500m: Expected to race evenly. There is some give in the ground following rain earlier in the week. Rated a Soft 6 as of Friday morning.
1500-800m (back straight): Some wear and tear on the fence from the previous meeting on October 1st, however expected to race evenly. Expected to race consistently in its rating of a ‘6’ .
1400m-800m (chute): Even grass coverage during this section as expected and will race slightly better away from the fence. Horses will not be disadvantaged racing slightly away from the fence in this section of the track.
800m-400m: With the back in the 2m position after being out 9m a fortnight ago from the 1000 metres to the Winning Post, there is some fill present out wider away from the rail, where horses will commence to improve away from the fence to make their runs turning for home. Following 17 trials last week, there is significant wear and tear across the track and the recovery of the track has been stalled. It is expected therefore, to see fields start to fan into the straight, particularly after the first few races.
400m-Winning Post: With the rail back in and recent trials out wider, it will be no surprise to see most of the track used in the straight. There is significant fill evident on the inside half of the track, along with damage to the outside, so it will be a case of riders assessing the best ground somewhere in between, when making their runs in the straight.
Verdict: The track presents consistently for the amount of racing and trials in the early Spring, along with a wet Winter and follow up rainfall recently, however will race in the Soft range. Significant amount of kickback will be evident throughout the day, with the track being somewhat tired from the amount of use recently. It gets some much needed respite next Saturday, with the meeting going onto the Main track. Horses positioned close to the rail and able to race prominently may be slightly favoured earlier, with any pattern to be established in the first few races. It would not surprise to see most winners coming from the inside early then to the middle of the track, however with big fields for the majority of races, horses will likely use most of the track in the straight, as the day goes on.
Mrs J A MacGillivray, D J Clarken, R A Sadek, P Cousins, G V Davidson, Mrs B R Davidson, B R Hayden, South East Connections (Mgr: R S Dix) & Gambling Graziers (Mgr: A B Prior)
T Clarke, R Warnock, C Reynolds, S Prettejohn, J Nemorin, G Guest, A Hughes, D Varney, Ms J Heaney, Mrs J Clarke, Mrs L Warnock, J Baker, Ms C Rehn, Mrs A Varney, P Ninnis, Dream To Win (Ms J Heaney) & Tell Them They're Dreaming (Ms J Heaney)
