Winning post-1800 metres: Racing returns for the first meeting of the new season at Morphettville, featuring the newly anointed Group 3 Behemoth Stakes, over 1200 metres. With some showers around on Wednesday night and 6 mls for the week, the track presented at noon Thursday as a genuinely soft surface. The rail is out 5 metres for the entire circumference, meaning that that we have plenty of track to play with for the first Group race for the season. The track has held up reasonably well after the recent frosts, with a good grass cover still present for this time of the year .With the rail out to avoid recent damage from Lightning Stakes Day on 29 July, we are practically on a new pad of ground all the way around. A recent strike of winter rye grass sees the track looking in better shape for late winter.
1800m-1200m: There is still good grass coverage all the way around to the 1200 metres and the track walks with little evidence of wear with the rail out slightly. There is no evidence of fill here but there will be kickback if forecast showers come. There will be no disadvantage to be away from the fence in this position, even to the three and even four wide line, particularly with cover. Walks in the Soft 5-6 range and is consistent throughout.
1200m-800m: This part of the track also presents well and walked in the Soft 5 range on Thursday. With the rail out 5 metres, there is a fresh pad and this should not disadvantage runners close to the fence or in the one off line. There is no evidence of any wear and tear close to the fence and walks consistently along the Park Terrace side in the back straight.
800m-400m: There is consistency from the fence out to the three wide line, with no evidence of wear. Again, the rail at 5 metres gives a good pad evenly out to the four and five wide line at this point. With increased moisture levels due to recent rain, expect this section to cut up and runners to come away from the fence from the 800 metre mark as the day goes on. Riders may be looking to get away from the fence in this section, as it will kick out early in the day, particularly if rain comes on Friday or race day. This pattern will be expected to play out as the day goes on.
400m-Winning post: The track walked consistently and was in the Soft 5, bordering on 6 range on Thursday afternoon. The track has raced evenly over the course of this year, with horses winning on the pace and from back in the field in recent meetings. There is no reason to suggest it won’t play the same on Saturday. The straight walks consistently from the fence out, with some signs of damage from the last meetings a fortnight ago. It is expected that runners will be looking to make ground out wide, as jockeys will look to come to the middle of the track again. Most of the straight will again be used, as we have seen in recent months, although close to the fence to the middle of the track will be the best going. Wider out remains damaged from recent trials, however this part of the track is not expected to come into play.
Verdict: The track presents well for early August, given the sunny days and strong winds prevailing earlier in the week. It walks consistently in the Soft range, although has a good grass coverage for this time of the year. Any showers will ensure that there is some damage however and the track will favour horses that prefer some cut in the ground, with the likelihood of improvement depending on whether forecast showers arrive or not.
The first few races will give an indication of the state of the surface, which will show some kick back on race day, especially if rain does come. Look for horses fanning from the 600 metres towards the middle of the track, spreading out in the straight. This will also give the opportunity for horses to improve closer to the rails in the straight and it is expected to see horses coming to the middle of the track in the straight. With the rail out five metres, winners could potentially come from everywhere, be it in the first few horses off the fence, or towards the middle of the track later in the day. Smaller fields early in the day and any prevailing wind conditions will see tactics play a big part in how the races are run and where horses are winning from.
