Seems money well spent at Te Aroha - unless of course you really are a Swamp Fox.

[Chief Stipe]

The rain came, but the races went on

George Simon  •  September 1st, 2025 4:26 PM   •  4 min read

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The rain came but the races went on and Nedwin won the Pakuranga Hunt Cup at Te Aroha on 31st August. Photo Credit: Race Images

 

Damned if you do...damned if you don't.

 

Sunday's Pakuranga Hunt Cup Day at Te Aroha was almost over before it began.

 

Racing Te Aroha were staging both the Pakuranga Hunt Hurdle and Steeplechase, as the vital lead up races to their inaugural Great New Zealand Jumps Carnival in mid-September.

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When the predicted heavy rainfall arrived on race morning, there was a real concern the meeting was on the brink of abandonment due to surface water near the 1500m mark.

 

Full disclosure here, I'm on the Racing Te Aroha Committee and work closely with Course Manager Ryan Gartner.

I've said before in this column, you couldn't pay me enough money to be a Course Manager.  After last Sunday, nothing's changed as far as I'm concerned.

 

The area where there was surface water, has caused concern since the reconstruction of the Te Aroha track.

Remedial work has seen significant improvement, but there is still obvious work to be done.  Mind you, there's not many tracks that could cope with the rainfall Te Aroha endured.

 

There was a total of 67mm of rainfall in the week leading up to and including race day.

 

Several horses schooled over the steeplechase course last Saturday morning with their riders were happy with the track conditions despite a further 14mm of rainfall.

 

However, a further 25mm fell on race day with 8mm falling between 7am and 9am .

And that tipped the scales considerably.

 

There is always a foreboding gloom when you see a delegation of Jockeys and Officials inspecting the track, especially before the race day has even started, as was the case on Sunday.  Yet, for the first time in a very long time, every sector group pulled together to ensure the meeting went ahead.

 

The ramifications of the meeting being abandoned were far-reaching particularly for the connections with horses  being aimed at the Great NZ Jumps Carnival in three weeks' time.  These horses needed the mileage in their legs for their upcoming endurance tests.   It was a crucial preparatory outing.

 

To see the various sector groups combine to get it done was extremely satisfying.

From the Jumps Jockeys, to the Owners and Trainers, to Stewards to Club Officials, the Starting Gate Crew, the Paramedics, Trackside Production Crew and even my old mate Course Manager Ryan Gartner and his team, everyone played their part.

 

Yes there were extenuating circumstances particularly with the Steeplechasers not having to negotiate the three fences down the back straight.

 

It was less than ideal, but necessary in the greater scheme of things.Weather permitting, the pay back will come in three weeks time.