Winning Post-1500m: Racing returns to the Parks track again tomorrow, after a break from racing at headquarters with Murray Bridge and Gawler taking some mid-winter Saturdays in early July. With 14mls of rain in the last week, the track walked in the genuinely Soft 6-7 range on Thursday late morning. The rail is out 6 metres from the 1000 metres to the Winning Post and is in the 3 metres out range for the remainder. There is good winter grass cover and a lack of frosts has kept the Kikuyu relatively strong for this time of the year.
1500-800m (back straight): The back straight of this track walks very well with a very good cover of grass and only very minimal marking from last meeting. With the rail going out to the 6mt position along the Park Terrace side of the track it provides a consistent surface with little damage evident from last meeting. A healthy cover of grass is evident coming off the 1400m chute joining onto this area and this section is in good order.
1400m-800m (chute): Even and good grass coverage during this section remains and will race evenly on and away from the fence. Horses will not be disadvantaged racing slightly away from the fence in this section of the track, with new ground on the fence and out wider. This is the best part of the track as expected and remains well knitted with a good thatch of Kikuyu present for this time of the year.
800m-400m: With the rail out 6 metres, any fill from the last meeting is mostly protected on the circle and turning for home. The coverage is even except for the fence where there are still some signs of slight damage. It walks consistently away from the fence and as expected, fields will start to fan into the straight, with a consistent coverage of grass in this area. From the two wide line out, is in good order, with horses not disadvantaged from fanning wider here.
400m-Winning Post: Entering the straight you can see marking is spread further across the track, however with relatively little damage to speak of. There are some signs of wear early in the straight on the fence and although this is minimal, you may see runners drifting off the fence rounding the home turn as the day goes on. For the remainder of the straight it presents fairly evenly and makes it achievable for the backmarkers to finish off out wide in clear ground. Even with the rail out on this track it is no disadvantage for the back markers. Recent track gallops on the outside of the track are showing the usual wear for this time of the year, but horses won’t be out this far to be affected tomorrow.
Verdict: With the Soft 5 rating being posted on Friday morning, the track has dried out somewhat over the last 24 hours with a strong breeze present and clear skies. The track looks healthy and for most part of it we are on a consistent winter surface for Saturday, with little damage as the rail is out. With showers forecast tomorrow along with a cold day, it would not surprise however, to see the track get into the worse part of the Soft range to a 7 and possibly even Heavy, if rain persists. Needless to say, wet track form will be an advantage going into the meeting, however if current clear conditions prevail, the track should race fairly and give every horse a chance.
Racing SA Stewards will provide an update to the track rating on Friday.
P Ditchburn, L Harris, J Gallagher, J Harris, Ms M Gill, P Shelly, G Davison, A Dodd, G Archie, D Linney, Mrs M Shephard, J Cleveland, M A Gibson, Mrs Z C Kelly, Mrs K Donald, D W Deans, Clay Hero Racing (Mgr: R W Lanyon), Bula Bula (Mgr: C M Fitzgerald) & Ascot Park Bowls (Mgr: M Lampshire)
