Track walked on Thursday 2 February 2023 at 11am
Winning Post-1500m: Racing returns to the Parks track after a two month break and a renovation. Expected to race evenly and walks consistently, with a good grass coverage. The rain last Saturday night and cooler conditions have really helped the track come on in the last week or so. Rated a Good 4 as of Friday morning and walked in that range on Thursday.
1500-800m (back straight): A boost to the grass cover in the last week with rain has this section in much better shape. With the rail back into the true position, 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 new ground on the fence and out wider.
800m-400m: With the rail back in the true, there is plenty of track for horses to commence to improve away from the fence to make their runs on the circle and turning for home. The coverage is even and walks consistently on and 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 in, it will be no surprise to see horses spread out in the straight, particularly later in the day. The track walks a Good ‘4’ in the straight, with a southerly headwind in the straight forecast for Saturday, also likely to come into play. There is no appreciable difference from the fence out to the middle of the track and the coverage seems consistent across, so pace and wind conditions early in the day, should be taken into account when assessing chances later.
Verdict: The track presents in very good condition and coming off a two month break, should play evenly and race well. With unseasonal cool and windy conditions, the track should race in the Good range by Saturday, depending if forecast showers arrive or not. It would not surprise to see winners coming from closer to the inside early with the small fields, as pace may 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, particularly if the headwind in the straight tests on pace runners.
Racing SA Stewards will provide an update to the track rating on Friday afternoon.
