Winning Post-1800m: The area directly past the winning post has a fair bit of wear courtesy of the runners pulling up here. Aside from that it walks fairly, there's slightly more wear in lane 1 just after the crossing. Slowest sections probably border on the '5' range.
1800m-1200m: I thought slightly more wear against the fence particularly approaching the 1300m mark. Coverage is strong with a good pad underneath you but thought one-off the fence might be slightly superior despite not being in a crucial section of the track. Walked a '4'.
1200m-800m: Slightly more wear in lane 1 but the coverage is pretty good and walks in the '4' range. The wind direction here is often the determining factor regarding the pattern. We saw that in last meeting here with a tailwind resulting in a track record for the 1200m.
800m-400m: Similar to the previous section there is slightly more wear close to the fence. The rail has moved from the True position to the 4m position here and that's why there's still slightly more wear in lane 1. I thought the fence improved approaching the 600m mark.
400m-Winning Post: There's a slightly softer section at the entrance to the straight and that walked deeper into the '4' range. From the 300m mark to the post there's not much difference across the track. Won't surprise me if you see those horses that travelled in the running line peeling out and fighting out a lot of finishes. There's a chance those hugging the rail from early on in their races may be a touch softer late in the race.
Verdict: Coverage is largely very good. The inside lane has more wear and tear than just off the fence and that might affect the pattern a touch. The wind is forecast to be quite light and blowing from the South-West which is the norm. I expect it to race well but will be keeping an eye on how those horses that race hard up against the fence finish off their races late. I'd imagine the track stays a '4' for much of the meeting.
Royal Blue And Lime Green Diagonal Stripes, Lime Green Cap
Owners
W T Clarken, Ridgeport (Mgr: E S Guagliardo), Willaroon (Mgr: Ms S E Watkins), Bell View Park Stud (Mgr: A P Mackrell), B N Howard, A Darivas & Rushton Park (Mgr: D A Johnson)
Navy Blue, Sky Blue Epaulettes, Striped Sleeves, Sky Blue Cap
Owners
Mrs A Alexander, C Roylance, R Roylance, G Jones, T Janssens, D Foley, B Abbott, Mrs D Childs, C T Burgess, Swinging By The River, Carte Blanche Racing, C M B Racing No2, Dycer Racing, Woodjustdoo Racing & Summerset Park Stud
Light Blue, Dark Green Quarters, Lime Collar And Sleeves, Dark Green Double Armbands, Quartered Cap
Owners
Kildalton Park (Mgr: D Gordon), Ms R L Cormie, Ms B Simpson, D & Ms A Godfrey, J Naffine, A Costello, B Finch, A Lawson, A Thomson, Hamish & Co (Mgr: M Docking), Waggie Racing (Mgr: W Martin), Lucky Virgo (Mgr: I Pettinger), Soomacca (Mgr: Mrs S McConnachy) & Murphy's Law (Mgr: A McDougall)
