Pukekohe back to the "Glades"

[Nerula 1,403]

Scratchings the order of the day. What a disappointment! The track looked like it had been overwatered at the previous meeting. The recent deluge meant it has never recovered.

Its almost a given that the watering protocols are wrong?

Whats going on there, What say you, our man Shane? 

[shaneMcAlister 1,425]

Hi

I am no longer part of Counties since the merger (I believe this will be a total success).  But I will provide my two cents for what its worth.

The vast majority of todays scratchings will be dry track horses I am guessing as I think the track will race ok.

Due to the timing of Counties races the track renovations have always occurred after the mid December meeting and before the late January one.  This was the only real window they had.  As you can imagine there could not be a worse time of year to try and regrow the grass.  This year was particularly dry.  However a renovation needed to be done so that the track could handle the extra race meetings.

Going forward it is hoped that the programming will allow annual renovations to be done in a better time of the year.

With money spent I think Pukekohe has the potential to produce a very good racing surface from Oct to May.  There is a bore there so no issue with water.  However money (hence the merger) must be spent to get a fit for pupose irrigation system.  This would cost around $500K to be done properly.

Winter will always be a problem for Pukekohe, it is low lying cost that has a lot of fog in winter so difficult to dry.

I still dream of a winner there one day......

 

 

[scoobysnacks 386]

Does anyone know why there is such a long break between Race 2 and 3?

[shaneMcAlister 1,425]

Covid protocols, jump jockeys staying separate from flat jockeys

[arjay 451]

No doubt the club expecting a lot of betting from the huge crowd today, same as the gap before the Oaks, tho to be fair Pukekohe's gap is longer.

[Nerula 1,403]

Thanks Shane we were scratched there. The annual meeting was al;ways early March and I have been to a huge number. I cant recall a meeting where the going has been as soft as this meeting and the previous one.

The thing is Pukepark is supposed to take up meetings with the Ellerslie closure - and it has failed.

I know Puke has a wet micro climate (talk to a concretor from there)  but I think too much water has been applied to the track. The NZTR track condition dictums needs a new look.

In my view the track should be a certain rating 5-7 days prior to racing then leave it be.

There is the excellent weather site MetVuw used by outdoor workers. It is very accurate up to 7 days. It shows how much Hughie will send down over 6 hour periods.

Oh well off to Avondale I suppose

[shaneMcAlister 1,425]

Hi

I presume you are discussing this website, https://www.metvuw.com/forecast/forecast.php?type=rain&region=nzni I personally use this one too.

Track preparation, like all of NZ racing needs massive financial investment too.  This extends to being able to pay high salaries to obtain and retain the suitably qualified staff.

 

[scooby3051 10,930]

Totally agree but that aint gonna happen as the fat cats in Petone dont see it as necessary...as long as the pies and sausage rolls are in their office then they are all good.

[Leggy 4,089]

10 hours ago, Nerula said:

In my view the track should be a certain rating 5-7 days prior to racing then leave it be.

You've got to be kidding. To use your concreting analogy, you would just predict the weather and conditions a week in advance and go ahead with the pour regardless?

[Nerula 1,403]

Mate for 21 years i ran a business where we poured 60 to 110 cube of concrete every Thursday or if the weather was bad Friday or even Saturday..

So once MetVuw became available we knew what was coming . However Puke could trip you up.

But it is not about me there is a problem here needs addressing.

Lets cut to the chase. Legs when in your opinion should a track be watered before a meeting. What would you say would work..Because what we have now demonstrably isn't.

 

[Leggy 4,089]

9 hours ago, Nerula said:

Mate for 21 years i ran a business where we poured 60 to 110 cube of concrete every Thursday or if the weather was bad Friday or even Saturday..

So once MetVuw became available we knew what was coming . However Puke could trip you up.

But it is not about me there is a problem here needs addressing.

Lets cut to the chase. Legs when in your opinion should a track be watered before a meeting. What would you say would work..Because what we have now demonstrably isn't.

 

I don't think there can be a "when" prescription anymore than I can tell you "when" my avocados need irrigating until the day or "when" the dairy farm next door need to turn the pivots on and how much they should apply. That's what we have soil moisture sensors for isn't it? Same as you don't pour your 100 cubes on Thursday necessarily If weather doesn't suit you leave it till Saturday. And if it's 35 degrees the next day you turn the sprinklers on it.

[Nerula 1,403]

Yes but NZTR have a prescription of what the track state should be a particular dar before a meeting. The guts of this is whether that is fit for purpose. I suspect it is not fit for purpose for the differing soil types. 1What do you think?

[Leggy 4,089]

53 minutes ago, Nerula said:

Yes but NZTR have a prescription of what the track state should be a particular dar before a meeting. The guts of this is whether that is fit for purpose. I suspect it is not fit for purpose for the differing soil types. 1What do you think?

Totally agree. Clubs are supposed to aim for Good3 for the majority of the meeting. Irrigation decisions to achieve that must be at the discretion of the club, course manager and as you say, dependent on soil conditions and available irrigation and other course management resources. There should not be any dictate about how and when any of those things can be applied to achieve that. If irrigation is called for the night before the meeting then they should go for it. Can only base those decisions on the best available weather forecasting but best to act on the safe side.

[Leggy 4,089]

5 hours ago, Nerula said:

Yes but NZTR have a prescription of what the track state should be a particular dar before a meeting.

 

I don't think so. Where is that?

The track prep policy says "Race Day Track Preparation Process – Mandatory Requirements
Clubs should aim to produce a GOOD3 rating (track with good grass coverage and cushion) for the majority of the race meeting. This may result in a track reading in the Dead range being declared on race morning.

Nothing I can see about any particular requirements prior the meeting. I think you are just dreaming this stuff up.