Heavy rain may hamper La Crique Plate bid
The promise of Group 1 racing on something resembling a spring track was dangled in front of punters yesterday before the rain and reality arrived to plunge today’s Hastings meeting back into winter.
While we are now a month into spring, almost every feature thoroughbred race this season has been run on a heavy track, from the Winter Cup (expected) through to the Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa, then the energy-sapping bog of the Tarzino at Hastings three weeks ago.
With Hawke’s Bay having had no rain this week, track staff woke up yesterday hoping today’s mega
meeting could be held on a soft7 track as the track started to dry. But then the rain came and back to winter conditions we go.
With constant rain setting in from noon yesterday and more forecast for today, the meeting which hosts the $300,000 Arrowfield Plate and the $140,000 Hawke’s Bay Guineas will be held on a heavy10, with the only bonus for punters being at least most of the favourites today have recent heavy track form to rate them on.
But it still leaves a decent-sized question mark over Arrowfield favourite La Crique, the little mare with the massive motor who would have been a big shortener had the track got back to a slow rating.
Now with a heavy10 guaranteed, it won’t just blunt her speed but aid key rivals Mustang Valley and Spring Tide, fit horses happy on heavy and ready to exploit any drop-off in La Crique’s performance.
While La Crique’s trainers have suggested rain on the day could at least loosen the Hastings track and help her get through it rather than bogging her down, the reality is a truly heavy track helps her rivals and hinders her enough to steer serious punters away.
So it wouldn’t surprise to see Mustang Valley tighten even further today and give in-form veteran jockey Vinnie Colgan his shot at Group 1 glory and trainer Andrew Forsman a chance at a big transtasman double.
While Hastings will be the major focus for New Zealand punters, there will be huge interest in Randwick and Flemington today, meetings starting an hour later than usual for New Zealand punters because Australia has yet to change to daylight saving time.
Forsman has high-class filly Lickety Split in the A$300,000 Edward Manifold Stakes, in which the long strider should be better suited by the return to set weights racing and the race being at Flemington. She was a brave third at Caulfield on her Australian debut and was originally set to head straight to the 1000 Guineas on October 12, but has come through that last start so well, she races today in an ideal assignment, especially with the best Sydney fillies yet to make it to Melbourne.
One of the other key Kiwi players in Melbourne today will be Roch N Horse, who looks to continue her outstanding Australian form in the A$300,000 Gilgai Stakes (8.05pm) down the same straight 1200m she stunned the racing world winning the Group 1 Newmarket last summer.
Tomorrow’s final jumps meeting of the season at Woodville is expected to go ahead even after heavy rain in the lower North Island.