Track walked on Thursday afternoon, at 3pm.
Winning Post-1500m: Expected to race evenly and walks consistently, with a good grass coverage. There is a slightly firmer spot near the 1800 metre mark, due to the irrigation not fully reaching this point. Rated a Good 4 as of Friday morning and walks in that range towards a Good 3. Irrigation likely to be applied with a warm day on Friday, to maintain the Good 4 range for race day.
1500-800m (back straight): A boost to the grass cover in recent weeks with rain has this section in great condition. With the rail out an additional two metres, this back straight section walks consistently well across the track, out to the three wide line and beyond and is expected to race evenly. Walked in the Good 4 range on Thursday.
1400m-800m (chute): Even and lush grass coverage during this section as expected and will race evenly on and away from the fence. Horses will not be disadvantaged racing slightly away from the fence in this section of the track, with minimal wear and tear on the fence and one off.
800m-400m: With the rail out to 9 metres, there is some fill present closer to the rail and into the two wide line, where horses will commence to improve away from the fence to make their runs on the circle and turning for home. The coverage is even and walks more consistently slightly away from the fence. It is expected to see fields start to fan into the straight, particularly after the first few races.
400m-Winning Post: With the rail out, it will be no surprise to see most of the inside half and middle of the track used in the straight. There is significant fill still evident on the outside half of the track with recent gallops, however this is not expected to come in to play. The track walks a Good ‘4’ in the straight, with a slight leaning towards ‘Good 3’ on Thursday afternoon, however there is no appreciable difference from the fence out to the middle of the track and the coverage seems consistent across.
Verdict: The track presents in excellent condition and consistently for the most part, given the amount of racing and gallops in the latter part of Spring, leading into Summer. Winners are expected to make their runs from the fence, to the middle of the track and the track presents fairly. With recent warm weather, the track will race in the Good range by Saturday. Some amount of kickback will be evident still from the home turn, however the track is bouncing back very well from a tough Winter. It would not surprise to see winners coming from closer to the the inside early with the small fields, as pace will dictate the first few races. Later in the day, horses with cover and able to peel off at the top of the straight and towards the middle of the track, may be advantaged.
Racing SA Stewards will provide an update to the track rating on Friday afternoon.
