Track walked at 2pm Thursday 20 July
Winning Post-1500m: Racing returns to the Parks track again, being in consecutive weeks given the break from racing on the Main track. With only 2 mls of rain in the last week, the track walked in the genuinely Soft 5 range on Thursday afternoon. The rail is out 9 metres for the entire circumference, getting away from a fair bit of the wear and tear from last week’s meeting. There is still a good winter grass cover, however the frost has kicked in this week and the track has taken on a definite winter look, compared to a week ago.
1500-800m (back straight): The back straight of this track walks well with a good cover of grass and with some marking in the one and two wide line from last week. With the rail going out an additional three metres along the Park Terrace side of the track, it provides a consistent surface , although holding some moisture. A healthy cover of grass is evident coming off the 1400m chute joining onto this area and this section is in reasonably good order, although affected by the frosts this week.
1400m-800m (chute): Even and good grass coverage during this section remains and will race evenly away from the fence. Horses will not be disadvantaged racing slightly away from the fence in this section of the track, with new ground three wide and out wider. This is the best part of the track as expected and remains well knitted with a good thatch of kikuyu present for this time of the year.
800m-400m: With the rail out 9 metres, any fill from the last meeting is mostly protected on the circle and turning for home. The coverage is even except for the fence where there are still some signs of slight damage. It walks consistently away from the fence and as expected, fields will start to fan into the straight, with a consistent coverage of grass in this area. From the three wide line out, the track is in good order, with horses not disadvantaged from fanning wider here.
400m-Winning Post: Entering the straight you can see marking is spread further across the track, however with evident damage from last week. There are some signs of wear early in the straight on the fence and further out, with runners a chance of drifting off the fence rounding the home turn as the day goes on. For the remainder of the straight it presents fairly evenly and makes it achievable for the backmarkers to finish off out wide in clear ground near the middle of the track. Even with the rail out 9 metres on this track, it is not always a disadvantage for the back markers, however on pace runners that dictate terms will be possibly getting away from the fence in the straight. Recent track gallops on the outside of the track are showing the usual wear for this time of the year, but horses won’t be out this far to be affected tomorrow.
Verdict: With the Soft 5 rating being posted on Friday morning, the track will only improve with continuing clear skies on Friday. The track looks different to last week, with a definite frostbitten winter look as the over sown rye grass has not yet kicked in. For the most part of it we are on a consistent winter surface for Saturday, with some damage on the rail, but most avoided as it is 9m out. The pattern of racing in the first part of the program will be the best guide when assessing chances later in the day.
