Winning Post-1800 metres: The second of four consecutive weeks of Group 1 racing sees the rail back move out three metres from the true position last week. This gets away from some damaged ground near the fence and with plenty of track to play with, we see good coverage heading up the Bray St side of the track. The track walked as a Soft 5 at noon on Thursday, but with significant showers around on Friday afternoon, will be likely to be getting towards the Heavy range. The inside pad with the rail out presents well and walks consistently.
1800m-1200m: There is very good grass coverage all the way around to the 1200 metres and the track walks consistently, following 19mls of rain during the week, up until Friday morning. There will be no disadvantage to be away from the fence, in the two and three wide line, particularly with cover. This is a relatively fresh pad of grass, so every horse gets its chance to race on even ground, despite being on the fence or wider out.
1200m-800m: This part of the track also presents well and walked close to the Soft 5 range yesterday. The track continues to present well and the thatch cover remains really tight, which is ideal going into three more Saturdays of racing weeks. May sees a slight downturn in the soil temperature and growing conditions start to level out from herein. There are some signs of damage away from the rail to the three and four wide line, as we are on a pad that had horses travelling over it in this section.
800m-400m: There is consistent ground from the fence out to the five and six wide line. There is some wear on the fence and horses will be looking to get away from the fence. Unfortunately, rain on Friday will mean that this section of the track will chop out during the day tomorrow.
400m-Winning Post: The track walked consistently, although rain on Friday will see horses wanting to get to the middle of the track. The track has raced evenly over the last few months, with horses winning on the pace and from back in the field in recent meetings. The straight walks mostly consistent from the fence out to five metres, however it is expected however that runners will be able to make ground out wide. Some signs of fill from the middle of the track out should not impact on those runners coming to the middle of the track, however if rain continues, horses will spread right out in the straight.
Verdict: With the continuation of Group 1 racing with a great Robert Sangster Stakes field, rain about again is the unknown factor. The track presents well again, although rain affected now, providing a lush, good cover of kikuyu. The track walks consistently throughout, including in the straight. The usual pattern of horses looking to come to the middle of the track from the 200 metres, should be evident again. Recent racing shows evidence of fill out in this section. Look for horses winning from further back and fanning from the turn out towards the middle of the track. The track has played consistently this year, but rain brings an unknown factor in these conditions and wet track form will be an advantage. The Stewards will further assess on Saturday morning.
