Following a track inspection on Tuesday, the decision has been made to delay the return to racing at Awapuni’s grass track.
The surface was initially out of commission for 19 months as it underwent an extensive renovation, and it was set to commence racing on ANZAC Day earlier this year, however, that meeting was abandoned following a slip in the opening race.
The track has subsequently undergone further remedial work, and the club has called upon the expertise of Flemington track manager Liam O’Keefe to assist in that process.
A set of trials took place at the Palmerston North venue last week, and while the club were pleased with the way the track handled those trials, a track inspection on Tuesday, attended by representatives from New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, RACE Inc., the Racing Integrity Board, the New Zealand Jockeys’ Association, senior trainers and O’Keefe, confirmed the track needed more time.
“The track has made gradual improvement during the winter, but it still needs that little bit more time so it can host a large set of trials that would then tick off a race meeting,” O’Keefe said.
“It was a general consensus to give the track more time. It is still quite young and immature off the back of the necessary renovation works that were carried out to soften the track, which was really important so the horses can get good purchase in the track and make sure they are not going to slip.
“That (renovation) was successful and the trials went well, albeit there was a bit of kickback, which is expected with a new track. That is a good indicator to everyone that it needs more time, so it is going to get more time, which is a great result.”
O’Keefe said another season would have been more ideal to carry out the remedial work, with winter’s conditions not suited to grass growth. But with spring just a few weeks away, he expects to see that growth when the track undergoes its next inspection in three weeks.
“It (track) has taken to it (remedial work) well, it is just not the ideal time of year to do it,” he said.
“If you are going to do major works to a track, you would wait for the growing period, i.e. spring, autumn or summer. Unfortunately, going into winter, the works were required. The works were carried out, it has gone well and softened the track.
“There were no issues at the previous jumpouts of any slipping, which is a tick. It just needs time to recover, rest and rejuvenate.
“For the remainder of this week there will be an oversew on the track, there will be its regular fertiliser and then it will just be staying off the track to let the grass rejuvenate and recover and get thicker and stronger.”
While the track is being given more time to recover, Awapuni’s two scheduled meetings for next month (September 6 and 20) will be transferred elsewhere, and another track inspection will take place in order to assess whether it is ready to handle another trials meeting.
“We are going to reconvene in three weeks’ time,” O’Keefe said. “We will have a walk with all of the industry participants together and hopefully then we can put a plan in place to return to trialling.”
