curious

This is the track that Awapuni reckoned they were going to replicate. Foxton yesterday.

Ellerslie Saturday. 2mm rain and no irrigation during the week and the rail is off? 25% moisture? Something is definitely not right with it?

Nic Yuen?

BELLO MIO (H Hassman) - When questioned regarding performance, rider advised that the gelding never travelled well and was disappointing.

Did you consider the horse might not have been good enough? What did you have it priced at? I had it at $12 and unbackable by a long shot.

I take it you backed it?

Geez give her a break. Te Akau are mentoring her. She's had 44 raceday rides and a <10% strike rate this season. Tidy and promising rider for mine and a lovely and respectful young woman to boot.

I mean, wouldn't you just plough it back up, sift out the rocks, add an appropriate amount of organic matter and reseed it?

I get that, but why, if you are laying a new track, would you not include what you think would be a good mix of organic matter in the initial soil mix instead of mixing in rocks with it, then saying it will take years for the organic matter from the decaying grass clippings to filter into the mix? Nothing they have done makes any sense to me.

That would be interesting to know. Do you MF?

Well it will surely be spring before any seeding is required anyway won't it, by the time they get all the re-cambering work done?

Yes, though if it were me and it is partially reseeded after the re-cambering, I's be waiting until the end of spring for the additional root development before using it.

No I agree. That was obviously to do with the "compaction" or lack of proper root development.

The latter is likely true but it was on the Wednesday which is right-handed day at Rangiora, so they would have probably had to get special permission to gallop left-handed.

Jmo but I think it's only the bends into and out of the turn that need re-modelling which is what they are doing. The latter bend is virtually a right angle with no camber probably as bad or worse than the Ellerslie turn into the straight that @Chief Stipe has mentioned on more than one occasion.