Winning Post-1500m: Last meeting the rail was in the True position in this section, so out 5m here has resulted in hardly any wear.
1500m-800m (back straight): This section is generally wear-free and that was the case again. Coverage is good with a nice pad of grass underfoot. Walked in the '4' range but I doubt they'd irrigated at the time of walking.
1500m-800m (chute): Some marginal wear across the inside lanes but nothing of note. The track hasn't been used much in the last three months and the wear would be a result of three 2yo jump outs conducted on Monday in this section. Coverage is solid and it should race well.
800m-400m: Some wear out beyond the middle from Monday's 'open-age' jump outs but I'd highly doubt anything comes that wide on raceday. The minor wear against the fence is a result of the earlier 2yo jump outs (conducted against the rail) but I'm not expecting it to have any bearing. Walked a '4' also but I expect a couple of irrigation sessions between time of walking and raceday.
400m-Winning Post: Very similar to the previous section. Only very light marking towards the fence. It's slightly cleaner out a few lanes but nowhere near enough contract for it to race in a way where the fence is inferior ground. I thought it walked a '4' as well with irrigation to come.
Verdict: There's only been two meetings on the Parks track since the start of December and both meetings (05/02 and 19/02) were conducted on Good 4 surfaces, hence very minor marking. The last meeting here saw a pattern where it was harder for horses to loop from the back. With the rail out an additional 2m I think you'll see a similar pattern on Saturday. In the last two years there have been ten meetings with the rail in the 4m, 5m or 6m positions and it was a disadvantage to be swooping on eight of those occasions, in my opinion. The forecast looks good for the next few days so with irrigation applied on Friday night I'd say the track will be a Good 4 for raceday. Wouldn't rule out an upgrade late in the program.
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)
