GROUND HOG DAY!!! 15 September 2015.
TURFTECH PARTNERSHIP LTD REPORT INTO HASTINGS ABANDONMENT PUBLISHED
30 September 2015, 1:53 p.m.
TURFTECH PARTNERSHIP LTD REPORT INTO HASTINGS ABANDONMENT PUBLISHED
An independent technical audit by Turftech Partnership Ltd of the Hastings track has been unable to identify any physical issue that contributed to the abandonment on 19 September 2015.
Turftech's report examined:
1. Core samples taken at the area of the slip taken on the day of the abandonment, which were reviewed and tested for moisture profile, soil structure, soil function, porosity and compaction;
2. Penetrometer readings across the whole track;
3. irrigation records; and a
4. Physical examination of the track surface.
Jim Murphy, the Turftech partner who conducted the investigation said: "Slippery tracks almost always involve a wetter layer over a harder soil. The irrigation used at Hastings before the races had set up an evenly wet soil. The water content from the slip area agreed with the course penetrometer reading .... All cores appeared to show even moisture down to at least 75 mm in depth."
A track inspection on Tuesday, 22 September, found only one slip mark, around the area where Tiger Tim had been reported to have slipped in race three.
“Soil moisture under the slip mark was what we would have predicted, from penetrometer readings, for all the course proper,” said Murphy. “I was able to inspect many hoof prints in the adjacent area and none showed any movement.”
The Hastings track has received more than 145 mls of rain since 19 September but might be no worse than dead for Livamol Classic meeting on Saturday. “It has all soaked in, which has been great,” track manager, Richard Fenwick, said. “The forecast is good and I’m pretty confident that, without rain, the track will come back to dead.”
The Turftech report is one of three independent reviews commissioned by NZTR following the abandonment on 19 September.
A more wide-ranging review is being undertaken by Bell Gully partners Mark Freeman and Rachael Brown and is expected to be completed within the next week. The Bell Gully review will include interviews with Hawke’s Bay Racing and NZTR officials, the Racing Integrity Unit, the Jockeys’ Association, turf experts and leading track managers in Sydney and Melbourne.