Winning Post-1500m: Coverage is once again very thick and lush. There's some minor wear in lane 1 but won't have a bearing. Walked well into the '4' range.
1500m-800m (back straight): The wear is very minimal in this section, being largely a straight run. Coverage is very strong and there is genuine give in the ground. I thought it walked a '4' but had some room to move.
1500m-800m (chute): There's minor wear with some fill to be seen across the first three lanes. Approaching the turn out of the chute there is slightly more wear in lanes 1 and 2. Coverage is still very good throughout and there's a good amount of give in the ground.
800m-400m: Some wear closer to the fence in lane 1. It's largely unmarked beyond the first lane up until the 600m mark where the marking spreads a touch wider. The wear is not that significant and should only have a marginal impact.
400m-Winning Post: I thought hard up on the fence walked a little slower with slightly more wear and some additional fill. Particularly from the 400m to the 200m. Inside the last furlong the wear is quite evenly spread across the inside three lanes. The coverage is still strong and there's enough give in it to give every horse their chance.
Verdict: There's slightly more wear close to the fence from the 800m mark courtesy of the rail moving out 3m from the previous meeting here. The Parks track usually favours the on-pacers that race close to the fence so any little disadvantage to horses that map there usually means a fair track. I think that will be the case on Saturday and I'd probably prefer to settle one-off the fence than hard on the rail from the 600m to the 200m mark. The coverage and give in the surface is incredibly good for this time of year and I'd be expecting all horses to enjoy the track, which felt well into the '4' range to me.
A F Burke, D Viney, S L Burdock, S Argiris, S A Calagaz, M I Haslam, G R Harrison, E Eren, M J Salter, T A Say, J D Viney, K J Burke, J E Hickmott & J Newberry
Navy Blue, White Sash, Lime Green Striped Sleeves, Quartered Cap
Owners
Seymour Bloodstock (Mgr: D S Thomas), M J Davidson, G R Barlow, Mrs H Barlow, M K Dawson, P A Johnson, B Murfitt, V P Ohalloran, G W Minett, G C Scholes, C A Ahrens & Best and Fairest (Mgr: M A Shepherdson)
S B Tilbrook, R R Byrnes, W A Rose, C J St Clair, Mrs E L Byrnes, B M Kelly, C Brookhouse, Mrs V Dielos, A J Hand, L Jervis, A C McGrath, C L Green, High Hopes (Mgr: S A Denny), Romantic's Without Fear (Mgr: Mrs T A O'neill-Hyam), Whs Plus & Hyam Racing (Mgr: Mrs T S Hyam)
