Winning Post-1500m: coverage is good and the track feels slightly firmer in this section. Barely any wear to speak of.
1500m-800m (back straight): the kikuyu is starting to take over now which is a good sign. Hardly any marking to speak of and walks evenly. No lanes of advantage. Some give in it, walks a Good 4 with a nice pad of grass underneath them.
1300m-800m (chute): coverage is the best it’s been for a while. Only minor marking across the inside two lanes which won’t have an impact. Walks a 4, amount of rain dictates any upgrade.
800m-400m: coverage here also improving rapidly with the better weather of late. Not a lot of difference across the lanes. Walks a 4, expecting it to race well. A few spots of fill in lane 1 from the 600m mark but not drastic.
400m-Winning Post: quite even but with more wear here than prior to the 600m mark. Quite a lot of wear out wide but don’t expect them to come out that far. Some give in it the surface, walked a ‘4’ but will improve throughout the day.
Verdict:
The kikuyu has really started to come through and it means the base is a lot stronger. Particularly prior to the 600m mark where the wear and tear is minimal. The track walked a ‘4’ but by the late Friday it will probably be closer to a ‘3’. Depending on irrigation tonight and amount of rain tomorrow (80% chance 1-5mls) it will probably start a ‘4’ and remain there for at least the first few races. I can’t pick a pattern, I think it will race quite well. Last meeting they got off the fence but not convinced they’ll do that on Saturday.
L M Macdonald, J S Rogers, A J Randall, J M Marsden, R B Satchell, R W Sands, Mrs R J Sands, M B Evans, B D Smythe, T Sands & Beers & Skittles (Mgr: T P McAuliffe)
Gold, Black Seams, Black And White Checked Cap, Gold Pom Pom
Owners
R B R (Mgr: R W Balfour), C C T, C E Ryman, R B Satchell, Mrs L F Satchell, T E Satchell, J F P Schmidt, P J Harrison, J W Fullerton, P W Greenbank, M A Greenbank, Ms D A Lehmann, K J Rejack, B Creeney, M J Kelly, Mrs C Creeney & Green Machine Racing (Mgr: C H Waterman)
R R Jolly, A White, P Cook, Mrs K Donald, D Donald, D Cooper, H Parker, M Crawford, D Crawford, M Whittaker, Mrs E Whittaker, P Ninnis, Mrs P Southern-Ninnis, G Gifford, Triple-G Racing (Mgr: M Shephard), The Booligans (Mgr: T Lanyon) & Bula Bula (Mgr: C Fitzgerald)
T M Scales, Ms B J Patterson, D P Juratowitch, Mrs S H Juratowitch, R M Scales, Mrs JM Scales, Mrs E K Anders, B D Scales, DA Lazarou, B R Cross, Mrs M J Mattsson, M J Mattsson, J A Robertson, N A Robertson, J A F Rabl, D A Wouters & H R Smart
