Riccarton Track

[rdytdy 5,343]

Good 3 declared this morning but the track is off on the inside section of the track. After the first couple jockeys were saying it is soft in patches and you could see it chipping out quite badly.

Heard Michael Pitman say he was biting his tongue and that he instructed Hayden Tinsley to come out just past centre track to get good footing after Southern Sav's race.

On Wednesday night they had 3mls of rain and then applied 12mls on Thursday. On Friday they applied 10mls in the morning and another 10mls in the afternoon.

Thats a total of 35mls of water going onto the track in the 48 hours prior to race day.

Hmmm!

[von Smallhaussen 3,226]

Hmmm is right Rdy - but what do you make of this at Awapuni last Tuesday?

particularly the downgrade prior to race 1 

 

Club: Manawatu Racing Club Date: Tuesday, 11 November 2014

Weather: Fine, Showery after Race 4

Track: Good(3), downgraded to Dead(4) prior to Race 1

Rail: Out 3 metres

Stewards: N Goodwin (Chairman), B Bateup, G Whiterod

[mr_gee 417]

something pretty dodgey alright pretty  pissed off to  as  had one in today 

[Ohokaman 5,844]

I noticed Cosmic Cube lose his footing on the turn, could have been nasty.

Fortunately he was good enough to overcome that and still win well.

[smitt 12]

Canterbury Jockey Club are a JOKE

 

You take a horse to ChCh for Cup Day and they serve up a Grand National type track

 

But we must remember that this Clubs irrigates in the WINTER so you nothing surprises you.

 

You have the raging favourite in a Group One and Sam Spratt spends the first 200 metres trying to get her horse of the fence. On a normal track this time of the year when you draw Barrier 1 you can smoke a pipe in the trail !!!! In the 1200m race they couldn't get out to the middle fast enough

 

Remember this Club used/wasted Industry money this time last year "trying" to fix their problems by starting at the winning post and going backwards with the work required... another ****up.

 

I spoke to someone who attended. 1 hour to get in, a ticketing system that is crap, no racebooks, long lines for tote, toilets and drinks. Can't see the horses coming up the straight due to tents and far too many drunken young people.

 

Time for a revamp. NZTR MUST STEP IN

 

But the CJC Board will be happy they had 10 winners, 10 happy owners.

 

My suggestion... Turn off your irrigation system and contract the event out to the people at Addington Raceway you don't deserve this special day in NZ Racing 

[Turny 1,224]

After presenting a very good track for the first two days, they absolutely stuffed up for the Grand Final day.

The track was "off" and introduced by management.

Book closed on CJC for me - terrible track today, just gave unfair conditions and negated the chances of many horses - a shocker

[Rambling_Kidd 160]

agreed ...

[hedley 1,900]

i saw the irrigation informations on the NZTR site in the lead-up to this day, and i expected the ground to cut out as it did..and i really enjoyed the surface it transpired as, race by race., had a great day on the punt for every race.

 

as long as the lead-up infos of the weather and irrigations are made known on the NZTR site, then as a punter i'm happy and confident in my suppositions then selections.

 

..but if the track was presented as a Good~3, but no infos about lead-up irrigation were notified, Then there is a problem..as the punter goes 'shy' untill the first couple of races have been run so as to be able to 'cotton on' to the Actual state that the surface is breaking as., [and that would produce a temporary slump in the turnover totals from the 'shy' punters..then wouldn't recover much as many would 'put their cues in the rack']

 

whatever irrigation decisions are made, it is ImPerative that they're notified on the NZTR site each lead-up day etc.

[puha 2,177]

Ok for punters Hedley but think about the owners and trainers that expected a Good 3 /Good 2 considering what Mother Nature had dished up.

[hedley 1,900]

yep, of course you're right..it was the Friday afternoon's 10mls that was wrong., the morning's'd've taken..then begun evaporating by late afternoon then on through the warmly night., then morning to meridian.

 

it's as if the track was prepared  for the punt., i certainly read the track as suiting only certain runners at the expense in many cases of 'the Good 3' runners.

 

there was no accountability for the recent Ashburton fiasco...nor was there any for the recent Riccarton one., and nor will there've been any for this latest one., just imagine if we had an integrity unit that sought protocol control over meeting's lead-ups.,

...we should set one up   ..and have a National venue inspector to integrate with the integrity unit

[Insider 3,961]

The track yesterday was a disgrace. Owners spend thousands preparing their horses and getting there only for that to happen! Man made stupidity.

[biff 2,158]

Canterbury Jockey Club are a JOKE

 

You take a horse to ChCh for Cup Day and they serve up a Grand National type track

 

But we must remember that this Clubs irrigates in the WINTER so you nothing surprises you.

 

You have the raging favourite in a Group One and Sam Spratt spends the first 200 metres trying to get her horse of the fence. On a normal track this time of the year when you draw Barrier 1 you can smoke a pipe in the trail !!!! In the 1200m race they couldn't get out to the middle fast enough

 

Remember this Club used/wasted Industry money this time last year "trying" to fix their problems by starting at the winning post and going backwards with the work required... another ****up.

 

I spoke to someone who attended. 1 hour to get in, a ticketing system that is crap, no racebooks, long lines for tote, toilets and drinks. Can't see the horses coming up the straight due to tents and far too many drunken young people.

 

Time for a revamp. NZTR MUST STEP IN

 

But the CJC Board will be happy they had 10 winners, 10 happy owners.

 

My suggestion... Turn off your irrigation system and contract the event out to the people at Addington Raceway you don't deserve this special day in NZ Racing

They don't have two heads for nothing Smitt, they must wear perminant bruising from all the backslapping

[Portfolio 728]

Maybe he was under pressure to water......Maybe if he didn't....and we had a downpour......and the track got a liitle greasy.....a few jockeys would have walked the track....and the meeting cancelled??? Happens all the time.

 

Poor guys...never will win.

[hedley 1,900]

not in this instance Portfolio.

 

there was 'zero' likelyhood of any rain on the day happening.

 

the ground was watered to counteract the warm N'Westerly prevail leading into the Sat, then the accentuated N'Westerly SATurDAY

 

Riccarton is one of the most predictable locations for interpreting weather forecasts and their prevail (out of any in N.Z.)

[Turny 1,224]

Interesting comments Portfolio

Your comments are somewhat true and I would normally agree with you 100% - but the forecast was totally ignored and they proceeded to water and create 3 tracks in one - against the fence was "heavy" and cutting out badly, midtrack was tractable and better and the outer third (which no jock tried) was a mixture of both and indifferent.

The reality is they got it right on the first two days and very wrong on the big day. The result being decision based. A wrong decision.

The odds on fav in the girls race was being pulled off the fence after 100 meters and was gone before the turn, even over a 3200 metre race some jocks were happy to post 3 and 4 wide the entire trip in search of better footing. It was a farce induced by decisions - poor decisions in my view. This was not a Premier summer meeting. Not at all.

Just put a line through everything that went around on Saturday if they are "hard and fast" runners - they were denied. I have huge sympathy for the various connections - Grand Final day and no proper pitch to play on

Lets live in the hope CJC learn, or they risk becoming an Ashburton, or Counties (Frankly I think they are there now and have a major issue to deal with, without the skill sets in their Committee ranks - and that has to be the concern).

For me personally, betting at Riccarton is now a very definite "No Go"  and changes in decision taking needed before I return with one dollar - It is just too hard and difficult to invest with even a modicum of confidence

Not being negative here, just factual and I wish CJC well and every success in dealing with their issue, and I guess the first step has to be that they must acknowledge the problem - that in itself may be an issue of course.

[cantab matt 134]

not in this instance Portfolio.

 

there was 'zero' likelyhood of any rain on the day happening.

 

the ground was watered to counteract the warm N'Westerly prevail leading into the Sat, then the accentuated N'Westerly SATurDAY

 

Riccarton is one of the most predictable locations for interpreting weather forecasts and their prevail (out of any in N.Z.)

 

 

pretty hard to take the weather forecast for Chch over Cup week seriously Hedley.......... Wednesday was heavy rain and hail ( it hardly arrived) Thursday was late showers ( it pissed down on Thursday evening) Friday was possible showers ( we got none) Saturday was later southerly change with showers ( that didn't occur either)...... personally I feel sorry for the track manager.

[hedley 1,900]

when i talk about the weather pertaining to presenting a track surface, i expect the track manager to use his Own interpretation of the sattelite weather maps and those mobile forecasts of that map from the MET service site.

 

Then i expect him to note the cloud formations as they confirm the airstream system of his own forecast being true or not.

 

Not for one minute should they pay heed to any of the MET service's forecasts of the regional forecasts...as they have an annual piss poor record of being accurate., that's bourne out by what you tabulated in your post.

 

Commercial fishermen and farmers learn to 'do' their own forecasting...using horizon cloud formation reading to confirm what they've estimated their interpretations of the sattelite maps to be etc etc.

 

...evermore that Thursday left 'been and gone'..the Friday then Saturday weather was quite predictable and reliable i my opinion and a warm fine day for Saturday confirmed what looked to be going to happen etc

 

the 10mls irrigation on Friday afternoon was the biggest factor in creating the cutting out...the 10mls Friday morning they'd've gotten away with...as that afternoon was hot and windy, and the Morning mls would've soaked in a little before being cancelled out by the afternoon's prevail. [the Morning mls would've consolidated the previous day's little bit of rain and the irrigation applied..transpiring on Raceday as a Morning Dead 4...Kind for the first two races then panning out as a Good but Kind 'meld' to the surface producing fast times., the ground would've cut out minimally on the inner tracts as the day wore on..but nowhere Near the extent that it eventuated on Saturday]

 

i read the latest advertisement for a Track Manager for ASHBURTON, and nowhere did it mention that the successfull applicant should have Any weather forecast reading skills

[how the hell can the person produce consistant track surfaces if he's only guessing upon the the 'pleb's' regional weather forecast that Jim and Karen give on T.V.One for example..as they 'parrott' the MET service's ones]

 

Commercial Fisherman 'live or die' on their weather reading capabilities., Track Managers should be beholden upon their own local knowledges of horizon clouds...from and of their own weather forecasting interpretations., Then! they'll know how much water to apply and When etc

[hedley 1,900]

HAWKE'S BAY do a great job...as RaceCafe' people know

[hedley 1,900]

many runners that won or placed on Saturday...found the Dead footing a surface to revel upon., Had the ground been Good and firm..most of them would only've finished close up having gone game and gallant runs just out of the divie bearing places.

 

..so the Firm ground horses missed out this time, but the Dead trackers would've missed out in the main if the ground had been Firm.

 

i take people's point that they would've prefered Firm footing as the previous two days had that type of displacement.

[Portfolio 728]

HAWKE'S BAY do a great job...as RaceCafe' people know

 

Spot on Heds.....

[gubellini 4,004]

Bonniegirl reported as being very sore in the hindquarters yesterday after going through a rough patch on the home turn.Rider Mark du Plessis thought she had broken down and eased her up.Feel sorry for her and her connections.Should not have happened.What will her mental state be next time she races?

[mr_gee 417]

 same with our  girl and a  couple others   in same race 

 

 

  question is  if  m  pitman says to hayden  get   of the  rail   surely     the powers be  new it was bad  and for him to say hes  bitting his tougue took a lot not  to say  it 

[TOM(the other Molloy) 1,774]

Interesting about Bonniegirl and the whole track issue

 

If you read the stewards report you would swear the track being a good three was the issue(ie she jarred up)

 

Which contrasts in the same race with O'Marilyn and Dramatist both of whose connections blamed the track being shifty(which I might add it clearly was but the way Bonniegirl's performance was explained contradicted that)

 

We had a horse down there for seven weeks and the CJC hospitality and assistance has been outstanding in that time but dear or dear - this should be the best track in NZ for racing and yet we get these continual issues with it.  Ever since they did the major renovation years ago they have been throwing up clods in the crossing/home turn area and it is not good enough.

 

Strangely though they went 1.08 for the 1200m in race nine even though it was clear horses where mid track looking for the better going.  It makes you wonder about the distances there as well.

 

Plough the bloody thing up, sow it down again and get a decent consistent irrigation system.  This carry on cannot go on

 

The best racing in NZ this year was Trentham in January and surprise surprise the one bone of contention was them not plastering water all over it pre-raceday.  Get that bloke who resigned from there down to Riccarton quicksmart.

 

Quite apart from the punters and connections the CJC itself deserves better! 

[cherry_bomb 89]

many runners that won or placed on Saturday...found the Dead footing a surface to revel upon., Had the ground been Good and firm..most of them would only've finished close up having gone game and gallant runs just out of the divie bearing places.

 

..so the Firm ground horses missed out this time, but the Dead trackers would've missed out in the main if the ground had been Firm.

 

i take people's point that they would've prefered Firm footing as the previous two days had that type of displacement.

 

I haven't seen anyone bemoan the cut being out of the track Hedley. Issue is with inconsistency of footing. No sane punters or connections want a 20% random factor added to results, theres enough volaitlity as it is. Let alone the safety issues.

[crustyngrizzly 1,702]

An interesting aspect of the result of the Guineas is that the first 3 home were all ridden by jockeys that had ridden in other races before the Guineas.Perhaps that gave them a heads up on how the track was playing.Just an opinion.