Freda

Yes, they could. But would they?

In the 70's, 80's......and on...very probably.

An effing sight closer to Ellerslie than Timaru and Winton.

I friend and occasional client from the Auckland area told me two years ago that the CD and S I were surplus to requirements, Auckland was where it was at and elsewhere didn't matter. He's usually pretty on to it so I didn't dismiss him out of hand, but privately hoped he was wrong in this instance. Appears, probably not. Will be interesting to see if the poly trials scheduled for Tuesday go ahead.

Sorry..I didn't mean the poster was absurd, the fact that that cost had to be built into the shift in venue, I thought absurd. That is just how out of touch NZTR are, and continue to display.

Yes, they do use the synthetic tracks in Sydney, but not for racing. Not to be pedantic, but just for some balance here.

CD? I thought Hawera was in Taranaki.

FFs, that's more expensive than the return ChCh to Invercargill. Absurd.

Agree with all the above. And, chatting to Kelvin Tyler, as he pointed out, those trainers who nominated for Saturday ( today ) were very well aware the track was going to be wet. I walked it last night, no surface water at all and apart from the rough surface ( which is normal) , fine to race. To express concern for those people traveling to the races from out of the district is utter b/s when those same people were afforded zero consideration on Thursday in the middle of a regional state of emergency. The safety of participants was not considered at all , and neither was the safety and well-being of those travelling through flooded and potentially dangerous areas. Absolute plonkers.

And - as an afterthought - that same stipe who put Reefton off because of an imaginary slip didn't consider strong winds and driving horizontal rain any problem at all.

And I should add that a senior jockey also gave his approval to that stipe...which I couldn't comprehend. Im sure his fellow riders wouldn't have thought much of his opinion either..but the remedy was ultimately in their hands, and those of the barrier staff.

That would have penalized my owners financially and the call for jockeys safety is not mine to make. Finally they and barrier staff made a decision. To defer the races to another day would have been the logical choice but not considered an issue by the chief stipe.

Wasn't concerned about the track at all.

Was bloody awful. I never thought that the races would be held, in the absence of an announcement I rang Mr Oatham expecting to be told they had been called off. It's on the polytrack, he informed me. I know, I have two in. The track is perfect, but what about jockey/horse safety with wind, chilling conditions, rain coming horizontally at times....? He was unconcerned. Haven't heard anything. So I tried again. State of emergency in the Selwyn district, orange warnings in Nth Canterbury...no, not bothered. Luckily no one was hurt, and finally jockeys and starting crew made the point. To be fair, I was told that the CJC had requested that the meeting be deferred but was refused.

Me too.

Good on them. Long overdue though.

Unfortunately, despite the undoubted efforts of the above-mentioned, nothing is exactly what seems to be done. Wendy Cooper has always been very helpful whenever I have had reason to contact her and has done much to help trainers with staff/ immigration matters but as far as anything else...apart from a recent release indicating concern about abandonments nothing much else springs to mind. Maybe I'm ill- informed.

Ffs...our committee approved a fireworks display right across the track from the stabling area. Needless to say it was abandoned when the organizer realized the ramifications.

Flipping refers to the practice of a deep groom where the sand [ which tends to settle and separate from the other material ] is evenly worked back through. It is different from a power harrow [ as I understand it ] and different again from the daily work done with the gallop-master after trackwork. I had a pic of the compacted sand, which made it look as if the horses were getting through to the tarmac base. That wasn't the case, but after 'flipping', reports were that the track rode well. I think maintenance was pretty average for starters but has improved greatly. The Aus contractor was pretty happy with what he saw at Riccarton. I'm pretty sure that a limited maintenance requirement may have been one of the attractive points of poly vs tapeta...however, we know that that is not the case and regular work is vital. What happens when the top-up of poly material needs doing is another matter....won't be cheap and can't be far away from being deemed necessary.

I know, many share your opinion. I can't find too much to get offended by in this piece all the same.

It's not flash down here either, Jess...if you own a transport company it would be ok...

They're out of their depth.

Can't answer re. the Massey report, but the work done on the Riccarton AWT was the normal, 4 monthly visit from the Australian guys, which as I understand, was part of the original contract with Martin Collins.

I think the Minister has shown repeatedly that he doesn't have knowledgeable people advising him.

Ashburton did push back. Refused to hold the latest set of grass trials because the track wasn't up to it.