Balaklava: Balaklava

The rail for this meeting is in the true position for the entire circumference and the track at time of walking on Tuesday morning was rated a Good 4. Their last meeting was conducted on the 9^th of August with the rail in the 3.5mt position  for the turn out of the straight and the true position for the majority of the track.

This track has had a month between meetings and benefits from this break with little to no evidence of damage from the previous meeting. There is a crossover of grass species at the moment which is normal for this time of year with the rye grass really maturing and the Kikuyu attempting to come out of dormancy although still frost bitten in many areas. Combined these grasses are providing a reasonable cover for this track and should hold up well on Wednesday for Cup day.

Both the back straight and front straight walked well with a good cover of grass and no obvious bias to the naked eye.

1900m – 1600m.  The turn out of the straight sees the rail return to the true position and back on fresh ground. No marking of any concern around this corner, with the track presenting evenly in this area there shouldn’t be any bias or concerns through here.

1600m – 1000m.  The back straight walks well with good coverage and a nice recovery from the previous meeting. Little to no marking is visible and with the rail in the true position for all starts along here should give all runners a fair chance going into the top turn.

1000m – 500m.  Grass cover is good around the home turn with some evidence of indentations from the last meeting. These markings will have no impact tomorrow and will be no problem for runners travelling closer to the fence.

500m – winning post.  A good cover of grass down this long straight with good recovery from the last meeting should give all runners a chance in the run home. No obvious advantage was visible at time of walking.

Racing SA Stewards will again inspect the surface on Wednesday morning for a race day track rating.