Magazine: Tracks a Mess all Over the Country
By Editor in Racing on 27th Jun 2009 13:25
The synthetic alternative far from the perfect antidote, ploughed-paddock racetracks have become racing's latest crisis.
Last weekend's racing around the country is proof. At Randwick, the meeting was transferred from the course proper to the inner Kensington track after three races.
For two tracks separated by just a few metres, the difference in surface and patterns at Randwick and Kensington is akin to Harold Park and Royal Ascot. It's not much better elsewhere in the Harbour City. The Australian Jockey Club is considering abandoning winter racing at Warwick Farm because of the woeful state of the track, admittedly after weeks of near-unprecedented rain, on top of drought.
Canterbury, Sydney's most used midweek venue, is "stuffed", according to Sport 927's Sydney form analyst Chris Beaumont, who says provincial track Hawkesbury is no better.
At Moonee Valley a lane three horses wide was like an escalator on Saturday. The racing was as ugly as the worn-out StrathAyr surface.
As in Sydney, it was a gamble within a gamble for those brave enough to bet. The Valley Of Death, the headline that accompanied a jumps death in yesterday's Sunday Herald Sun, could easily have referred to the track itself.
At Eagle Farm the rain finally abated and the racing was good; a welcome change from most of the winter where rain and wear sparked widespread criticism from trainers.
In Adelaide on Saturday, they ran the second meeting on the new inner track at Morphettville. Like the Valley, the inside part of the track was quicksand.
The Valley's StrathAyr, when opened in 1995, was seen as cutting edge. It would never be rated heavy and was to be a winter haven. On Saturday, for the second meeting in a row, the track was rated heavy. Given it hasn't rained for weeks, heavy dews (!) were fingered as the culprit.
The StrathAyr is dead. It worked for a while but now cannot race up to its promises. It must either be ripped up and replaced by more StrathAyr or somehow morph into something more mainstream.
Racing Victoria says upgrades to the grass at Mornington, Cranbourne and Werribee (open to tender next week) will justify its desire to stop racing at the Valley through winter, but the MVRC is adamant it can pull up its socks and race year round.
The synthetic solution is nowhere near ready to be rolled out. Amid safety concerns, RVL will monitor a full season on the Geelong all-weather before constructing synthetic tracks at the Cranbourne training centre and Nar Nar Goon.
Source & More: www.news.com.au
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