Java is put to the Vaal Classic

The 2450m Java Handicap, which is normally run at Turffontein on Charity Mile Day, has been postponed until Tuesday next week when it will be run on the Vaal Classic track.

This is due to a patch just past the crossing - at around the 2400m pole on the Standside track and between the 2200m to 2000m markers on the Inside track. The area of turf next to the crossing developed a problem with poa grass, which had to be killed with an herbicide. The kikuyu has not grown quickly enough following the treatment, leaving bare patches in the track.

The pull-up areas are affected, but according to track manager Thomas Rasasamola, the tracks are safe for racing.

“We are avoiding starting races in those areas in case of problems in the pens,” he said. “But the main reason we don’t want to run over further than 2000m on the Standside track is that we need to work on the problem area and it’s difficult to take corrective measures while the track is being raced on.”

That bare patch is the main reason the 2600m event at Turffontein last Saturday was shortened 1950m.

That meeting was switched from the Inside track to the Standside track because of a bare patch at the 1100m pole which the jockeys deemed unsafe.

Rasasamola said new grass has already been planted at the 1100m marker and track staff had already started planting kikuyu around the crossing.

“We have a mini break at Turffontein until 19 November and these areas should be fully covered by the Summer Cup meeting on Saturday 25 November,” he concluded.

* TAB betting on the Charity Mile opened yesterday and punters can take All To Come bets into Saturday’s R1-million main race from today’s Vaal meeting as well as tomorrow’s Greyville and Fairview meetings.