Special Agent

Gee Chief, the farmer, tractor and sheep look pretty good now.

So, nobody learns.

I don't care about numbers and stats. Did you not notice a race meeting was canned after one race at Awapuni? Now RACE are admitting the mistakes. How lucky were they no one or horse was hurt? Have a look at Easter Monday's meeting at Waverley. Like you say the meeting was thrust upon the club. The track was a mess and the Caretaker did an amazing job to run races at all.

Yes.

How many times do I have to reiterate the track at Awapuni may be the best in CD? But, not now. IT NEEDS TIME!! You have pointed out that there are people responsible. What does everyone think should happen to all or some of those people?

Do you think the amount of water required was factored into the new surface? How much water do you think is required to maintain the synthetic? Did you know the synthetic is due to be flipped? Don't worry about Trentham, the sale of Levin is required to maintain Awapuni.

Thank you Curious. That is, in a nutshell, what many of us "nameless" "faceless" people are trying to say. Now backed by the statistics that seem so crucial to some. As for the hammering of tracks, ask anyone who rode at Waverley whether they think tracks have been hammered.

If you think known kick back is okay, good on you.

Yes.

Judging by Brad Taylor's latest update maybe Kate Hercock was correct about more water required.

They used be Caretakers, employees of the club but, I'd have thought almost a free rein to maintain and manage the track successfully for training and racing. Maybe "manager" only offers a better remuneration.

So, let's pretend everything is peachy then. How does Hastings go from a premiere surface to a skating rink? No human error involved? What has been done, and the advice sought has not fixed the problem so why would you not take a different approach? Awapuni needs further time, as simple as that. It's not that bloody complicated.

Job title needs reviewing then. Doesn't need manager attached.

Why would a Track Manager not decide to move the rail? What is the Track Manager paid to do? Manage the track I would have thought. Management of a racing club and racecourse includes CEO, Committee, Racing Manager and Track Manager. I think the buck stops with one of those.

Management should take the wrap for rushing back to race day. You can't blame this on trainers, jockeys or people of the past.

Isn't the obvious being overlooked? For some stupid reason there was a desire to get Awapuni racing in a hurry. Why was the track not given sufficient time to consolidate? Jumpouts and trials are not the same as races. I think more trialling is required, and now necessary from a confidence point of view.

So you know what happens behind the scenes do you?

What is that comment based on? What you see and hear in the media?

We are not in the told you so category. You are just looking for a fight. Stick up for track managers if you like. You are talking bullshit about how useless you think trainers and jockeys are. There are quite a few who maintain their own tracks, and properties. Awapuni has been renovated quite a few times in recent years, this is not an exclusive fix up after 100 years of neglect. Why would the CEO of NZTR not have all the information? I thought the Awapuni renovation was being closely monitored by NZTR. You continue to run trainers and jockeys down for the state of tracks and racing. You have a funny take on some aspects.

Some wondered if the safety limit of 12 was in place for that very reason. Who knows how many would have scratched if that option was put up? There would have been horses entered that would never have been on one.

Chief, some of us have said there were problems no one wanted to know about. Now the disastrous cancellation of races has resulted you seem to be demeaning our comments and saying we shouldn't blame track management. Who do you think should shoulder the blame then? You asked what could the CEO have said? The only decent thing to do is cancel a contract or two and then resign.

First-time rider on the track, Kate Hercock, was equally impressed. “The track is lovely, it’s very consistent all over.” Well, that blows my info out the window. If the riders can't tell it like it is every time and decide to tell the masses what they want to hear, they lose credibility when coming out at a later date with criticism. "reports from nameless trainers and Jockeys about the trials." It would be unfair to give names from conversations to have their words and character pulled to shreds on here.

You heard the murmurs close to the ground as did I. Without playing the blame game, where was any foresight?

Exactly, an appropriate interviewee. Maybe Kate doesn't say the right things all the time. How do you think she was feeling after that ride? Unsafe, frustrated, light in the pocket ... The fix might not be as difficult as you think. The Awapuni track may very well be the best surface in CD, so it should be with the amount of investment, but not right now. Forget about rushing to get racing on it again. Keep trialling on it until the track is perfect no matter where the rail is. I think the industry has dodged a bullet with only a slip. Please learn from it. I don't mean put words in a report, actually take action that reflects intelligence instead of arrogance.

The murmurings are weeks old Jess. No one wanted to see another race meeting canned. As I said earlier I think the decision to race the 2nd and 3rd legs of the HB triple crown at Awapuni should not have been announced prior to Anzac Day racing. This is a bad look on the international stage, especially when raved up by the club and NZTR. NZ racing folk are out of pocket and looking for alternatives which are thin on the ground. The track surface should not have been put under pressure until many more trials had been held. Despite what you read in the media, not every jockey and trackwork rider was completely happy with the surface at the latest trials and gallops. Trainers opinions echoed those of the riders. There are other industry participants close to the action who were adamant the race meeting would not run it's full course. The underlying fact is that only the rosy comments were those heard and heeded by officialdom. So, no it was not a surprise to stakeholders. The atmosphere oncourse went from shock and disbelief that this could be happening again, to anger that it was. I don't think there is any escaping the fact that errors have been made and someone needs to be held accountable.