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.
M A Paine, Annandale, D J A Williams, R Garozzo, P Rix, K Gray, Mrs S Gray, M Green, Mrs J Green, J Sugarman, M Armstrong, A Bonwick, J Bonwick, J Bourke, D Connell, D Cotton, P Cotton, D Lappage, A Kirkwood-Scott & D Cornelius
