Horse racing: Ideal track tipped with fine weather

La Crique is set to fly to Sydney for a two-race campaign. Photo: Trish Dunell

The Livamol Classic on Saturday could be run on an ideal track if the Hastings weather plays its part this week.

And that is even after the track came up heavy yesterday following a wet weekend.

The track copped 17mls of rain from Sunday morning to lunchtime yesterday to put it back in the heavy range, where it was for the Arrowfield Plate meeting on September 30.

But track manager Richard Fenwick says the weather forecast for Hastings is almost ideal this week.

“I am not unhappy about the rain we got at all,” he says.

“It saved me irrigating and with the forecast we have this week I think it will come back to a Soft 5 or even a Good 4, a track to suit most horses.”

That is, of course, if the weather reports are more accurate than they were leading into the Arrowfield, when it rained almost every day that week and the heavy track saw hot favourite Legarto and La Crique withdrawn on raceday.

Fenwick says he will leave the rail out three metres, as it was for the September 3 meeting.

“I don’t want to risk putting it back into the true position and creating a fast lane with the ground that wasn’t used last meeting.”

Mustang Valley remains the $2.60 favourite for the Livamol, which she won last season on a heavy track but trainer Andrew Forsman says she can still win on a drier surface.

Still, a firmer surface could see her drift as money comes for Pearl Of Alsace and Ladies Man, whereas if the forecast is wrong and the track comes up heavy on raceday Mustang Valley will start odds-on.

One of the biggest racedays of the thoroughbred season:

1: Hastings with the $450,000 Livamol Classic (group 1)

2: Randwick hosts the A$20 million The Everest (ironically not a Group 1, long story)

3: Caulfield holds the A$3m Caulfield Guineas (Group 1)

4: Even little old Ashburton gets in on the black-type action with the $100,000 Barneswood Farm Stakes (Group 3).