Awapuni’s comeback meeting abandoned after one race

The refurbished Awapuni track passed recent trial tests but was shut down after the first race at the Anzac Day meeting today. Photo / Race Images.

Awapuni’s long-awaited return to racing on its newly renovated grass track has ended in disappointment, with their Anzac Day meeting abandoned after a slip in the opening race.

“A horse slipped on the outside,” RACE’s general manager of racing Brad Taylor said.

“Walking the track, there is no visual slip, but we have got to have jockeys’ safety first.

“They are the ones going out there and riding on it and it’s on us that this has happened.

“It’s really unfortunate, but we will learn from it and put the plans and processes in place to make amends for it and hopefully be back here in three weeks.”

The rail had been put out six metres for the meeting, and Taylor said this was done on the advice of a number of track specialists who the club has contracted over the 19-month renovation process.

“There were two reasons (for putting the rail out six metres),” Taylor said.

“The first one was that we had jump-outs here for local ones (horses). There was a patch at the 600m, a half-metre by half-metre square, where a rock was brought up when we were verti draining and a bit of repair had to go into the track, hence why the trials went out to three metres.

“Then obviously we had the weather that day, we had 13ml of rain before the first (heat) and it rained throughout. There was quite a lot of damage.

“It is a young, immature track, so on the advice of the experts, we moved it (rail) out six metres. People say it’s a dumb decision, but we are just following the advice of the experts.

“We have had plenty of horses over it right through the process.

“We will go back and work with them (experts) and the plan always was for the meeting on the 17th (of May) to go back to the true position to give that small area an extra three weeks. That will be our plan at this stage.

“It is only going to get better the more horses over the top of it and a bit more maturity.

“The riders’ feedback was that it felt good under foot. Unfortunately, we have had this one slip that we can’t hide behind and it’s been the telling factor of the track.

“We will go through the process we had leading into today, learn from it and we will come back bigger and better.”

– LOVERACING.NZ News Desk