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You’re absolutely right, Miss Woodford. We have the worst of both worlds here – racing on soft ground (thus cutting up the turf) and then racing on the same turf once it’s dried out (thus producing a rough uneven surface). My local course (Warwick) suffers particularly from this as it stages NH racing in the winter and flat racing in the summer. Next Monday’s meeting is due to be run on firm ground which is likely to be unsafe after the winter’s NH racing has left it in poor condition.
Hi,
I think you have misunderstood the layout of Warwick’s racecourse. The Flat and NH track are completely separate, therefore the Flat racing takes place on ground that has been rested since the 3rd October 2011. It is, in fact, in excellent condition with a substantial covering of grass and has just been praised by the Senior Inspector of Courses.
Also, we do not intend to run next Monday’s meeting on Firm ground. The going is currently Good to Firm, Firm in places and we have heavy rain forecast over the next couple of days. If the forecast rain does not arrive then we will irrigate gently with the aim of producing Good to Firm ground, as directed by the BHAGI’s.
If you require any further clarification then do not hesitate to send me a DM.
Sulekha
Hi,
I think you have misunderstood the layout of Warwick’s racecourse. The Flat and NH track are completely separate, therefore the Flat racing takes place on ground that has been rested since the 3rd October 2011. It is, in fact, in excellent condition with a substantial covering of grass and has just been praised by the Senior Inspector of Courses.
Also, we do not intend to run next Monday’s meeting on Firm ground. The going is currently Good to Firm, Firm in places and we have heavy rain forecast over the next couple of days. If the forecast rain does not arrive then we will irrigate gently with the aim of producing Good to Firm ground, as directed by the BHAGI’s.
If you require any further clarification then do not hesitate to send me a DM.
Sulekha
Hi Sulekha
Thanks for the clarification. Hopefully that means we will be in attendance on Monday – we may even need a box!
Tuffers
Watching the finishes on Saturday certainly suggested the ground was much more testing than good.
I’d agree, visually it looked slower than good ground. The Lincoln winner just squeezed inside the Racing Post standard, and most big handicap winners are thought to perform anywhere up to 10lbs better than their pre-race rating.
I know when I looked at the BHA going page (think it was Thursday) that it said 5mm was applied and they’d continue to water as necessary. I’d personally call it unsatisfactory, but I’m sure if queried Doncaster would say they did it because it was a 2 day meeting.
I’d agree, visually it looked slower than good ground. The Lincoln winner just squeezed inside the Racing Post standard, and most big handicap winners are thought to perform anywhere up to 10lbs better than their pre-race rating.
I know when I looked at the BHA going page (think it was Thursday) that it said 5mm was applied and they’d continue to water as necessary. I’d personally call it unsatisfactory, but I’m sure if queried Doncaster would say they did it because it was a 2 day meeting.
Having spoken to an owner who had a runner at the meeting, I’m told the surface was very greasy as a result of the watering with the result that lots of horses were finding it difficult to keep their footing.
It certainly sounds like a classic case of a counter-productive watering policy.
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