Ellerslie track issues

[Mr Spyro 422]

 NO  NO  Jim, the man actually wrote a 

15 minutes ago, Contentious said:

 

 

[Leggy 4,194]

Does anyone know what the grass mix is that they used there?

[Idolmite 3,418]

13 minutes ago, nomates said:

Well if common sense had been in practice they would have said they were moving the meeting yesterday , whole heartedly self interest was at play .

The most interesting aspect of this is the complete invisibility of one B Sharrock , I'm sure he is still the head of NZTR , he is isn't he ?

 

I think they said at the end of today's Weigh In that he is to be a guest on next week's show. They should make it a phone-in for viewers!!

[Mr Spyro 422]

 " No No No "  Jim from Vicar Of Dibley  actually in real life wrote an  American # 1 record about a dog. Mrs Brown You've Got A Luvley Daughter....... appropriate as the track has been all  dog thus far. 

[mckenzie 662]

28 minutes ago, Leggy said:

Does anyone know what the grass mix is that they used there?

A rye grass mix that was developed for them. Some info on the structure of the surface in the videos below

 

[nomates 5,471]

24 minutes ago, Idolmite said:

 

I think they said at the end of today's Weigh In that he is to be a guest on next week's show. They should make it a phone-in for viewers!!

Got bored long before the end so didn't hear that . I agree , would love to hear him answer some hard hitting questions from Industry participants , Sharrock can be in the seat next to him as well .

[Maximus 790]

This decision comes as a proactive response to recent track issues and concerns raised by stakeholders ...

A proactive response would have been to do the sensible thing after the partial abandonment on 10 April...ie transfer the Easter meet to another course and begin the "planned winter renovation" from 11 April.

Max travelled to Ellerslie from the glorious North on Saturday to support a mate (a first-time owner) whose horse was in Race 8.
Imagine the disappointment/frustration...and 5 hours on the road for sweet f-a. 
When the young lass fell off Opaea Joe earlier in the day, Max feared the worse. But mercifully her horse had 'clipped heels' and she was dislodged (or so we're told). 

Yes, the rain was steady/relentless and sometimes heavy, but on the 'old surface' the last two races would have likely proceeded (on a Heavy whatever).

To see the 'spin' here about a proactive response is sickening - though entirely predictable.

Max's sympathy is with all the connections of horses entered in Race 7 and 8.

 

[We're Doomed 5,908]

3 hours ago, SameOld said:

Meeting at Ellerslie May 25th moves to Pukekohe.

Pukekohe also races on May 22nd

I'm wondering if they should do the decent thing and hand back their race club of the year award.

[Fiery Falcon 100]

Who cares apart from you.

Another dumb comment from a person who has cost the industry thousands with  your negative comments over the years

[Friend Family 377]

100% Paul .....great move .....if you were a chess player it would be a 7 move check mate.

[scooby3051 12,984]

And where has Shamrock been during all this commotion ...???Silence is deafening...or is he too busy with his own personal issues at present...seems very strange he has gone to ground.

[Nerula 1,544]

There been some player movement at the Wahs of late?

Hey Scoobs did you see that subteraenium Sp matting on the core sample. I went Full Screen and Nope cant see.

[scooby3051 12,984]

3 minutes ago, Nerula said:

There been some player movement at the Wahs of late?

Hey Scoobs did you see that subteraenium Sp matting on the core sample. I went Full Screen and Nope cant see.

You better ask Leggy he is the know all.

[Leggy 4,194]

23 minutes ago, Nerula said:

There been some player movement at the Wahs of late?

Hey Scoobs did you see that subteraenium Sp matting on the core sample. I went Full Screen and Nope cant see.

What core sample? The six month old one in the vid above? Jason even then refers to thinking the root system had got a bit tight hence had just completed an overdue vertidraining. I haven't seen a current or recent one. Where did you see that?

[scooby3051 12,984]

It seems the two main causes/issues are

1 They chose to grow the Strathayr from seeds and not roll in pre grown turf. This had never been done before.

And I think this one may be even worse

2 They never fixed the camber on the home turn to preserve the "chracter" of Ellerslie. I believe this is a large contributor to the amount of slipping on the home turn.

But hey not being anti Ellerslie or Negative, just would like some answers instead of the waffle they keep putting out to cover their proverbial.

I keep saying the industry MUST have this track at its absolute best.

[Insider 5,183]

1 hour ago, scooby3051 said:

It seems the two main causes/issues are

1 They chose to grow the Strathayr from seeds and not roll in pre grown turf. This had never been done before.

And I think this one may be even worse

2 They never fixed the camber on the home turn to preserve the "chracter" of Ellerslie. I believe this is a large contributor to the amount of slipping on the home turn.

But hey not being anti Ellerslie or Negative, just would like some answers instead of the waffle they keep putting out to cover their proverbial.

I keep saying the industry MUST have this track at its absolute best.

I agree with everything you say. Other than the camber I believe that sooner or later the other problems will be resolved. I hope so anyway. 

Liz

[nomates 5,471]

2 hours ago, scooby3051 said:

It seems the two main causes/issues are

1 They chose to grow the Strathayr from seeds and not roll in pre grown turf. This had never been done before.

And I think this one may be even worse

2 They never fixed the camber on the home turn to preserve the "chracter" of Ellerslie. I believe this is a large contributor to the amount of slipping on the home turn.

But hey not being anti Ellerslie or Negative, just would like some answers instead of the waffle they keep putting out to cover their proverbial.

I keep saying the industry MUST have this track at its absolute best.

I agree with all that but the interesting thing for me around the camber argument is that the race where the horse slipped , the winner came wider and was travelling faster than the horse that slipped on its inside yet had no issues , surely if it is purely a camber issue then the horse should have had issues as well .

Personally from all I've read I think this is mostly about the grass and structure underneath that seeding instead of laying has caused , hence not enabling the horses to get a grip as a hoof hits the track . 

[THE TORCH 788]

JF: says it was a "who knows how it would turn out" situation. Are you kidding me??!! $55M for a cross you fingers result?!

[scooby3051 12,984]

22 hours ago, THE TORCH said:

JF: says it was a "who knows how it would turn out" situation. Are you kidding me??!! $55M for a cross you fingers result?!

So why seed it instead of the tried and true way they knew worked.

[Hedley Jordan 152]

8 minutes ago, scooby3051 said:

So why seed it instead of the tried and true way they knew worked.

Possibley to pocket the difference between the cost of the lain turf..and seeding.

there's no other rationale is there?

[Leggy 4,194]

1 hour ago, Hedley Jordan said:

Possibley to pocket the difference between the cost of the lain turf..and seeding.

there's no other rationale is there?

They would also have had to contract for that turf to have been grown here using the recommended grass types for Auckland's climate etc. and then harvest and lay it. However, that would have put them months further ahead in readying the track, especially with the delays that occurred because the grass would have been growing away in the mean time. I don't think the direct seeding itself was the problem but something obviously went wrong with the process to cause the matting to develop in the root zone. Only thing I can think of is too much too shallow irrigation. They also clearly raced on it way too soon under the circumstances. I just hope they don't try and do that again if they can fix it.

[Friend Family 377]

100% Paul will FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFix it........Does he still work there?

[Alf Riston 2,150]

https://www.aucklandracing.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ATR-Annual-Report-2023-compressed.pdf

As the 'verbal side stepping and arse covering continues', it's interesting to look back at the 'expert waffle' that was delivered in the 2023 Annual Report.

ACCOUNTABILITY was nominated for 'the Values Powerpoint Stakes' but was obviously withdrawn, probably due to Track conditions. 

Here's a few snippets: 

'However, the track project was close to completion by the end of July and we are delighted by the outcome which has more than lived up to our expectations. We set out to achieve a world-class racing surface and on what we have seen to date we are confident this is what we will deliver. Our hope is that we will be able to hold the TAB Karaka Millions raceday at Ellerslie but we first have to be confident that the track is ready for racing. That will be our priority.'  - Chairman

'As widely communicated, we will go through a rigorous process to ensure that the surface is ready for racing. This is critical to not only ensure the safety of horse and jockey, but to preserve the longevity of the track well beyond the immediate season.' - CEO

The 'refreshed family brands' particulalry amused me.  

There's nothing more thrilling than being all together at Ellerslie 

 

[Memphis3 1,366]

When they first started down the Strathayr road they should have started growing their own turf under the supervision of an expert of course. 

[THE TORCH 788]

8 hours ago, Alf Riston said:

https://www.aucklandracing.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ATR-Annual-Report-2023-compressed.pdf

As the 'verbal side stepping and arse covering continues', it's interesting to look back at the 'expert waffle' that was delivered in the 2023 Annual Report.

ACCOUNTABILITY was nominated for 'the Values Powerpoint Stakes' but was obviously withdrawn, probably due to Track conditions. 

Here's a few snippets: 

'However, the track project was close to completion by the end of July and we are delighted by the outcome which has more than lived up to our expectations. We set out to achieve a world-class racing surface and on what we have seen to date we are confident this is what we will deliver. Our hope is that we will be able to hold the TAB Karaka Millions raceday at Ellerslie but we first have to be confident that the track is ready for racing. That will be our priority.'  - Chairman

'As widely communicated, we will go through a rigorous process to ensure that the surface is ready for racing. This is critical to not only ensure the safety of horse and jockey, but to preserve the longevity of the track well beyond the immediate season.' - CEO

The 'refreshed family brands' particulalry amused me.  

There's nothing more thrilling than being all together at Ellerslie 

 

Ive never read so much crap in all my life.