Freda

Spot on. Nice bloke.

Poor Hunter. He does a fine job, but would rather not be doing that.

Think so, yes.

Bonecrusher, Rough Habit...Pivotal Ten..

Gold fines, Bill Kennedy told me, were used to ' improve' the track, along with the sowing of the right sort of grass. Didn't improve anything, the pakihi is taking back the ground bit by bit, the boggy bit in the dummy straight is there, as it always used to be.

Yeah, the Reefton turn out of the straight certainly caught a rider out in the case you mention. Had been negotiated safely for decades. Definitely rider error, with disastrous consequences. Similar with Hokitika, when a few ran off at tbe turn out of the straight....always a possibility with new riders but not an issue with a bit of nous. Unfortunately the combination of very, very heavy ground on one particular day, along with so many riders now not up to standard, led NZTR to decide that the circuit was not needed, not 'the look' that was required going forward.

And - as you said - the renovations weren't done properly. That's my point. Also, correct wrt the 30 year time frame, needs attention any old time but I dont think that's likely.

Nope. Clover on a gallop tracks is just a disaster. But, agree 100% with the rotational renovation concept. Should have been the modus operandi all along.

Clover in the sward is not ideal!

Im no expert so I can't comment about that. But the Coast examples were simply bad practice. There was nothing wrong with either track from a safety perspective. They just looked rough with the rushes and native weed through the surface. But always safe.

Yes, that's right, I recall a helicopter brought in to try and dry the track! No problems, as you say, before being 'upgraded'. But, I was referring to Greymouth, which, with the sowing of grass from out of the area, ended up with clover all through it, with predictable results.

This goes back several decades, Chief. Its not recent. Look back at renovation of Greymouth. Canterbury grass sown under advice from the CJC track manager, Max Skelton ( for one) sustained severe injuries when his horse slipped over. Gore redone, horses fell over, Terry Moseley slipped twice at the same place on the same day! Rangiora renovated. That disaster has been discussed at great length, hasn't raced since. Riccarton itself, remodelled, although it is still operational the surface has been criticized ever since. It gets away with less than perfect because it is a large circuit with sweeping turns. You'll sneer and say I'm dredging up ancient history. But the facts are there, NZ racing has a history of botching renovation. The only saviour has been the variety of tracks still left to take up dates. Now that the brains trust has seen fit to mothball so many, the flaws inherent in the 'preferred ' tracks are there for all to see. Liam O'Keefe seems to be a very valuable adviser. We are lucky to be able to call on his expertise. But whether he has the time - or inclination - to continue in that capacity may be dubious.

Dont be a prat. Im nowhere near as critical as I could be, generally, and I do try not to be nasty or abusive. Poor form IMO.