Track walked at 1:30pm Thursday, 21 July 2022
Winning Post-1500m: No discernible difference here across the inside four lanes, which is where they'll race on. Coverage is solid enough for this time of year and I don't expect to see anything out of the ordinary here. Walked a Soft 5 in my opinion with some give in the track.
1500m-800m (back straight): The inside two lanes have a bit more green-growth than the wider lanes, courtesy of the rail not having been in True since April. I thought there was a thicker strip of grass in lane 2 which might make it race a touch slower than hard on the fence. A little bit of give in the track but not much moisture, thought it would race a '5'.
1400m-800m (chute): A bit more sandfill in lane 3 compared to the other parts of this section, likely through recent jump outs. Under-foot there's a decent pad of grass with an almost 'spongy' feel to it. I don't think they'll run slick times over this section but not due to the ground being rain-affected. I couldn't find any lanes of advantage so I think it will race well and be in the '5' range also.
800m-400m: As we see at most tracks this time of year, there are tyre-tracks within lanes in this section. I thought hard up on the fence would be good ground to race in, just outside that lane there is a thicker strip but assuming they ride the rail quite hard they should find the quicker ground. Similarly, lane 2 (if lane 1 is hard fence) will be on a good strip of grass too. Approaching the turn the lanes even up to a point that there's not a heap between them. Beyond the inside two lanes the grass is probably battling a bit in terms of health and growth but didn't think it would race all that much slower. The wear and tear from last couple of meetings is from lane 7 and beyond. Walked a '5'.
400m-Winning Post: The track is much more even here, I couldn't see much difference between lanes 1-4. The only noticeable change in the surface is from lane 7 and beyond where there's sandfill from previous meetings. I'm predicting the track to race well in this sections, it also felt like a '5' to me and should stay in that range assuming no rain.
Verdict: I think overall this track will race well. The rail being in True usually helps negate the natural leader advantage on the Parks track. Of the last six meetings with the rail in True I have only commented that there was an on-pace advantage on one occasion, which was December 4 of last year on a Good 3 surface. As far as lanes are concerned, I'd be confident to back horses settling on the rail in the middle stages but from the 500m to the winning post I thought the inside four lanes were all quite similar. Again, it will pay to follow the top jockeys as there are little nuances among the lanes that the good riders will target with success. Beyond lane 7 holds a fair bit of sandfill if they come that wide but not necessarily thinking it will be all that slower. I felt the track would race in the Soft 5 range on the day.
