Chief Stipe

I've looked at the race again. Bello Mio was going that well from the get go. It had no opportunity to get off the fence until turning for home and even then it was going well enough to move out. It would have lost a couple of lengths doing so before it got to better ground and would have had not chance of getting to the ground that the winner finished on. Nothing worse than average ex-Jockeys bagging an apprentice for no reason. From my observation the horse was only plugging the whole way! In the next race Hayley Hassman's mount draw 12 and she rode it perfectly.

That's how it looked to me. If a horse draws one on a Heavy 10 then at some stage you need to use some energy to get off the fence and find better ground (assuming the inside is off). The horse didn't look to be travelling well enough to do that at any stage. LOL if the Jockey had starting riding hard a long way out @SLB2.0 might have been happier!

Basically if you draw 1 on a rated heavy 10 track you have zero options if the inside is a heavy 12.

A very good point @jess . My understanding is that it is so important that the sand for the AWT's was imported. I might be wrong on that but can you imagine rocks in a Poly track fill?

Sure it does but if your horse is aiming for a BM65 or even a maiden does the extra cost to travel to Hawera instead of Woodville really matter? Some owners gain some lose. Swings and roundabouts. The point is everyone is looking for flexibility in shifting meetings to avoid abandoments and when NZTR is proactive in doing so you all still complain!

Spot the Clegg hammer! Where are the stones! If you want to comment please comment on this thread:

Why redevelop the track? There were several issues with the performance of the grass track that prompted the decision to re-develop it. These included: Different Profile on ‘outside bend’ Interestingly the track has two home bends – an inner and an outer one, both of which can be used for race meetings. The outer one was re-built about eight years ago and it is inconsistent with the rest of the track. Drainage issues (course wide) Despite a lot of old installed drainage, the track has poor and inconsistent drainage. A lot of the existing drainage is damaged or undersized and it doesn’t encompass the entire track. To improve drainage performance a new drainage system that encompasses the entire track is required. Aging and poor condition of existing infrastructure (drainage mains and outfalls) The location and condition of much of the existing drainage collectors and outfalls was largely unknown. When the synthetic track was built, some of these drains were found to be blocked or broken. Irrigation system deficiencies The existing system is inadequate and needs to be replaced to give improved coverage and uniformity. Awapuni track redevelopment project These works are underway at present. The reconstruction work consists of the following main steps (in order of works): Killing off and removing the existing turf cover on the entire track. Earthworks to reshape parts of the surface where required (mainly in the back straight) to give consistent cross falls and level transitions. Decompaction of the soil profile following earthworks. Realigning the inside running rail to give a consistent track width (approx. 26m). Installing a new stormwater drainage system to collect and remove water from surface run-off from the track and from the new lateral / slit drain system to be installed. Installing a new automatic pop-up irrigation system with sprinklers located under the inside and outside rails (both sides of the track). Installing 110mm diameter perforated lateral drains in the entire track at 5m centres. Sand topdressing the whole track with sand to be applied prior to grassing. Planting and establishing the whole track with a pure ryegrass turf sward. Installing slit drains in the entire track at 1.0m centres following part way through the grass establishment. Additional sand top dressing. Replacement of track perimeter fencing. Return to racing following NZTR protocols. All the while that this work is underway the complex has to be kept open as a training venue for the local horse trainers with all the inside training tracks available. Perhaps the biggest impact of this is that daily construction works can’t start until after 9.30am which is when daily track work (horse training) finishes. Dust management is critical on what is a big site (5.0ha) with some very close neighbours in the path of the wind.

Year-long reconstruction project starts at Awapuni Racecourse George Heagney October 20, 2023 • 5:00am A year-long restoration project on the Awapuni Racecourse has started.WARWICK SMITH / Stuff A year-long restoration project on the track at Awapuni Racecourse is under way to bring the venue into the 21st century. Work on the $5 million project started last week to improve the drainage and camber of the main grass track and it will be closed for a year. Tim Savell, the chief executive of Race group, which runs racing at Awapuni and Trentham in Wellington, said a few things were happening all at once, including 236 metres of pipe being laid under the track last week. “Things like the drainage wasn't very good for the course proper. Every drain was cracked and broken. They stuck a camera in there to find what’s been causing problems over a period of time. It’s got all new drainage.” A new irrigation system, which can be controlled remotely, will also be put in. New grass will be laid by autumn. “Some of the more obvious things people will see are the track’s going to be a uniform width. At the moment in some parts it’s 15 or 16 metres wide before it cambers off. It will be 25 metres all the way around nicely cambered.’ The track has silty soil, so over a period of about eight years it will be turned into a sand-based track. A sand carpet will be installed during this reconstruction, then a sand spreader will keep adding sand to the track. “Essentially, we’re going to turn the track into a 21st century venue, rather than something we played with over time.” The thoroughbred racing industry will pay for 75% of the reconstruction, while Race will cover the rest. The work had long been planned and was delayed by 12 months because of difficulty finding contractors. New drainage has been put in and a sand carpet will be put down.Warwick Smith / Stuff With the grass track out of action for 12 months, Awapuni’s summer meetings have been shifted to nearby venues, including Whanganui, Waverley and Hastings. Trentham usually hosts 10 meetings a year, but it has been allowed to run 16 so it could host Awapuni’s big meetings, such as the Manawatū Cup before Christmas and the Sires Produce Stakes in April. The popular Boxing Day meeting in Palmerston North will be at Ōtaki. There will be a virtual meeting on December 16 hosting Christmas parties. The synthetic track, which runs inside the main grass track, opened in October last year and was used for seven winter meetings this year. It was scheduled to hold 12 winter meetings next year. But Savell said at this point they weren’t looking at using it as a replacement course while the grass track was closed. The work will turn the racecourse into a 21st century venue.ADELE RYCROFT / Stuff “We definitely know we’re going to take a financial hit, but it’s short-term pain for long-term gain.” Savell said it was likely this was the first time the entire track had been overhauled. The home straight was done in 1996 and the outside bend in 2017, but no-one knew when the back part of the track had been done. Having the track closed for such a long time allowed Race to get a large amount of work done, including upgrading the birdcage and some stables. “All the facilities can have some TLC because track staff aren't doing race day duties.” Work was scheduled for Trentham, after the restoration work was finished at Awapuni, and Awapuni would then host big Wellington meetings such as the Wellington Cup. - Stuff

Yeah well there is $2m+!! The rocks have got me really puzzled. Quality control issues I suspect. I have this gut feel that they didn't have an independent project manager on site and perhaps just drew up a plan and hired a contractor. Did anyone see a tender document for the work anywhere? I know I'll get derided for the next comment but what the hell... If it was my project that I was managing I would be sampling and monitoring every truck that turned up.