Horse racing: Te Rapa to the rescue

The filly likely to start favourite in the Ryder Stakes, now at Te Rapa, is Pacific Dragon.

The last black type race of the New Zealand thoroughbred season has been saved by an early move from Otaki to Te Rapa on Saturday.

That will ensure a better field for the 2YO $60,000 Ryder Stakes and mean the valuable Listed race goes ahead after the Levin meeting at Otaki was cancelled yesterday.

True to their word after the Rotorua race day abandonment last Saturday, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing acted early this time and had the Otaki track inspected by Racing Integrity Board and club officials yesterday after 109mm of rain in the last seven days.

Officials also commissioned a special Niwa report for the region which forecast another 70mm of rain to fall before noon on Saturday which would have made the already sodden track unraceable.

So the decision to cancel the meeting was made early to enable trainers to head to Te Rapa and others to nominate their horses for the Waverley meeting in the Central Districts tomorrow.

While losing any race meeting is not good, and a key Saturday fixture is a huge loss to the industry, the early call could save owners and trainers tens of thousands in transport costs, not to mention the actual loss of a black type race.

Had participants turned up to a soaked Otaki on Saturday only for the meeting to be abandoned after one race or worse, it would have been and double down on embarrassment the code simply can't afford.

"We wanted to be out in front of this as soon as practical and while it isn't ideal for those Central Districts trainers we don't have any other options for this weekend," said NZTR chief executive Bruce Sharrock.

"Trentham wasn't able to hold it after their recent meeting took its toll on the track.

"Awapuni and Whanganui couldn't and the team at Hastings weren't keen as they want to prepare their track for what they have coming up," said Sharrock.

"But it is crucial we save a black type race and by making this decision early everybody knows where they stand before acceptance time," he told the Herald.

Losing back-to-back Saturday meetings is a financial kick in the guts for the industry but Sharrock suggests help could be on the way in the form of an earlier than expected opening of the Awapuni synthetic track.

"The reports from Awapuni are really good and we may even have the chance to race there this winter," said Sharrock.

"It could be operational for racing in six or eight weeks and while I am not saying we would have moved this meeting to the synthetic, it would have given us at least one more option," he said of the major industry surprise.

"Once it is up and running the new track at Awapuni will ease pressure on other tracks by holding trials and mid-week meetings that will allow some of our problem tracks to have a rest.

"But we are not alone in this winter being a tough one. Queensland have had an enormous spike in cancelled or moved meetings after all the rain they have had too," said Sharrock.
The filly likely to start favourite in the Ryder Stakes is Pacific Dragon and trainer Tony Pike confirms she wouldn't have gone to Otaki had the race been there.

"It was a target race for her but I wouldn't have gone to race on a track that heavy with more rain to come," says Pike.

"So while we benefit from the change to Te Rapa for everybody involved it is a step in the right direction for NZTR to be out in front of this and make the decision early."