Te Aroha race meeting transferred

Te Aroha’s Group I meeting this Saturday has been transferred to Te Rapa.

The decision follows the abandonment of a meeting because the state of the Te Aroha track on March 17.

The change is the latest in a horror run for thoroughbred clubs, including the Auckland Racing Club last month having to transfer its Auckland Cup meeting to a Thursday because of heavy rain.

The decision to transfer this Saturday’s meeting followed a track inspection and gallops at Te Aroha yesterday morning, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing said in a statement.

Saturday’s race meeting features the $200,000 Group I Breeders’ Stakes.

Six horses from the Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards stable worked together and spread out in the home straight to enable a comprehensive assessment of the likely track condition on race day. The riders involved included senior jockeys Cameron Lammas and Michael Mcnab.

‘‘Visual observations of the gallop showed the track was cutting out, and the riders expressed concerns with the consistency of the surface and the extent to which it had cut out,’’ NZTR said.

The track was inspected after the gallop by a group that included Mcnab, Lammas, NZ Thoroughbred Autridge, course manager Graeme Amies, club officials and stipendiary stewards John Oatham, Warwick Robinson and Brady Jones.

The inspection confirmed the riders’ concerns, and the inspection committee decided that Saturday’s meeting should not be run there, with the decision influenced particularly by the inconsistent nature of the track and also by the unfavourable forecast for the area for the next few days.

TRAC general manager Jen Evans said that while it was disappointing that Racing Te Aroha’s flagship meeting would not be held on its home track, the transfer was the logical decision under the circumstances.