Horse racing: Horses head to unknown in Riccarton

The new Riccarton synthetic track during trials last year. Photo / Race Images South

A new era in South Island racing starts at Riccarton today but local trainer Andrew Carston says many rival trainers don't know what to expect.

Riccarton holds its first synthetic track meeting, with seven races on the new track which will be used for the major meeting on Saturday.

Synthetic track racing arrived in New Zealand at Cambridge last year and has been a successful training and trialling tool, with the race meetings held on the surface tending to be midweek industry-type days as opposed to Saturday meetings.

While not all trainers are fans of synthetic track racing it suits more horses and is better quality than the winter slogs which were bogging down the thoroughbred industry.

Carston says winter is when the new synthetic track will show its worth. "We have been training on it for a while and had four or five trial meetings but we haven't needed it that much yet because the grass track has been good," he said.

"But when we get to winter and the grass gets heavy it will be great."

Carston has leaned on his Cambridge counterparts for the best way to utilise the synthetic surface in training. He says the advice has been not to let the horses go too fast.

"Because it is a fast surface they can really scoot on it, and sometimes they go too fast for their own good. So I have been cautious with that," said Carston.

"We have seen some horses struggle to get used to that in the trials down here, which has meant there have been some really big margins.

"The ones who like it can love it but some of mine have struggled to get used to it.

"I did my owner's pre-race emails on Tuesday and told them I really don't know what to expect from the first day racing on it."

Carston has one of the best but also most disappointing horses lining up at today's meeting in Milford Sound (R5, No 2).

He was good enough to finish second in the Manawatū Classic as a three-year-old last season, beating subsequent Adelaide Cup winner Daqiansweet Junior before finishing third in the group 2 Championship Stakes at Ellerslie.

But Milford Sound has barely beaten a horse home in four starts since.

Carston labels La Cofradia (R3, No 4) as his best winning chance today and the last-start winner has no shortage of synthetic form. She was placed twice at the trials on the Cambridge synthetic before heading south to Carston and won her first synthetic trial there before winning fresh-up.