CONCERNS RESURFACE
Vow to do better after Coast track stripped of meeting
Racing Queensland boss Jason Scott has conceded the maligned Gold Coast track was simply not good enough for the $2m QTIS Jewel meeting on Saturday, as officials confirmed they had stripped a meeting off the new surface next Saturday to give it a month-long break.
Jockeys and trainers blasted the sandy surface that had significant kickback and favoured on-speed runners all day, made worse by persistent hot wind gusts. Scott said there was not enough water applied to the track in the lead-up. He said the organisation was committed to getting the track up to speed following highlevel meetings on Monday.
“Racing Queensland and the Gold Coast Turf Club are both really disappointed and committed to rectifying it,” Scott said.
“Greg Puckeridge from Racing Queensland and Nevesh (Ramdhani) at the Gold Coast Turf Club were working together and we didn’t get enough water on the track, for whatever reason.
“It has been publicised some jockeys rode it at 5.30 in the morning and said it was fine, but the heat and the wind obviously changed that. That’s not an acceptable excuse; we have to serve up tracks that are better than that.”
It comes after years of trouble and rebuilds at Eagle Farm in Brisbane, leading to Queensland’s premier track being in and out of action, but has since prevailed as one of the most consistent surfaces in the country. Scott said despite commentary on social media, cool heads would prevail when it came to the new Gold Coast track. “We have had 24 months of good Saturday tracks in Queensland, despite some of the panic that is happening from people who should know better,” he said.
“This is a blip and not a long-term problem with the track. We have moved the meeting next Saturday – there was clearly a lack of moisture there on the weekend for the Jewel. We are firmly committed to (improving it) and in four weeks’ time we will see a track that looks more like it did on Magic Millions day than what we saw on Saturday. The one meeting between now and four weeks’ time has been moved to the poly.”
Gold Coast officials expect the new track to carry a significant load in the future, with lights in the process of being installed and a $1m Magic Millions 2YO race to be run during a night meeting on May 24, ahead of the group 1 Doomben Cup a day later.