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Bit Of A Yarn

Colin Wightman ask questions at Canterbury Jockey Club AGM 2024


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The CJC AGM started out really well tonight with questions and discussions around increased revenue from Entain and new initiatives to improve the raceday experience until we got to the subject of polytrack and grass surfaces which have been a major problem here at Riccarton, our premier track.

I left the meeting shaking my head after hearing Tim Mills adamantly claiming that there was 150mm of poly cover (not the 50mm confirmed during my investigation) and then having to ask 3 times what the club was hoping to do this summer to provide a genuine Good 4 surface in the home straight.

Mills couldn’t answer the question other than trying to convince us that the world record times on the flint hard front straight were because of a miserable 4m fall in the track for the 1200m run. He even tried to blame the penontrometer readings as not being accurate.

Refused to accept that the track around the back and around the bend was non problematic compared to the front straight and that the penontrometer was taken as an average, not indicative (or exposing) of the rock hard straight. I explained the multiple phone calls I received of horses that pulled up like crabs after Mondays trials. But not one person in that room other than a trainer beside me cared.

The icing on the cake was when retired vet Corin Murfitt (committee member) stood up and told those who dared to listen that jarred up horses were the fault of the trainer … not those presenting the tracks!!!

Source:  Facebook

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Looks like they've realised they need to spend some money and regularly maintain the bloody thing!

From: Alan Chapman <alan@riccartonpark.co.nz>
Date: Wed, 9 Oct 2024, 8:59am
Subject: poly
To: TRAINERS - Riccarton Park <riccartontrainers@riccartonpark.co.nz>

 

Matt from Martin Collins will be here this weekend to power harrow and level the poly track

Track will have to close at 9am Saturday 12th for him to complete this by Sunday night

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24 minutes ago, curious said:

Looks like they've realised they need to spend some money and regularly maintain the bloody thing!

sigh, good to see some proper progress in play!

ummm, pity it had to play out in such a 'public way', a fecking track problem...

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