Anger at Awapuni
NEW Zealand racing has again been hit for six with the abandonment of the Manawatu meeting yesterday.
It continues a trend of disastrous abandonments which are increasingly hitting at the core of the industry.
Opportunities are being lost to the industry participants as Awapuni joins a run of recent cancellations including the Wanganui Cup meeting on November 26.
The Cambridge meeting at Te Rapa on November 20 was rescheduled when strong winds blew over a large part of the running rail.
The abandonment comes at the end of a week in which 39mm of rain had fallen up until Thursday night and the track had improved from a Dead 6 on Friday morning to Dead 4 on race morning morning. Had the meeting not been rescheduled for today, industry shareholders would have lost the chance to compete for $325,000 in stake money and two black-type races, so important to owners and the breeding industry.
Lush spring grass growth and changeable seasonal weather were blamed for the slippery Awapuni track surface.
The unsuitable conditions almost sent Lucyinrio and jockey Johnathan Parkes crashing to the ground with about 900 metres of the first of the day’s races left to run.
Parkes thought he was gone but Lucyinrio managed to scramble out of a tricky situation.
‘‘That was as bad as you see a horse slipping without falling,’’ said chairman of stipendiary stewards John Oatham.
After the close call officials, track staff and a contingent of senior jockeys went to the trouble spot for an inspection.
The club requested permission from stewards to undertake slicing of the affected area which was granted and initially the programme was put back by one race.
A further inspection followed before the call to abandon was made to the frustration of everyone involved.
Planning began immediately to reschedule the remaining seven races for Sunday, with the intention to move the rail out to the four-metre point on which the first day of the meeting was staged last Saturday.
The rail had been moved to the true position and the issue was with the new strip of ground on the inside.
‘‘As we know safety comes first,’’ Oatham said.
After the work had been done Oatham said it was difficult for anyone to be satisfied that the problem had been remedied.
‘‘We would be wanting complete confidence that all riders could go out and ride their mounts to the best of their ability to give all connections, punters et cetera a fair go.
‘‘Although it was a decision no-one wanted to make, at the end of the day it was the only viable option for us.’’
The announcement of the abandonment met with anger among many at the track but participants, particularly owners and trainers, cooled down a little when news filtered through that the races would run on Sunday.
Despite the news Matamata trainer Graham Richardson was counting the cost and questioning how the situation arose as he organised an unscheduled overnight stay in Palmerston North for his two horses.