Horse racing: The Trentham trepidation

Racing officials are confident Trentham won't be robbed of its two premier jumps races for the second year in a row.

Racing officials are confident Trentham won't be robbed of its two premier jumps races for the second year in a row even after the capital took a hammering yesterday.

Trentham is programmed to hold the $75,000 Wellington Steeplechase and Wellington Hurdle on Saturday, with the track already rated a heavy10 and no sign of any drying weather on the horizon.

In fact, Wellington was being soaked by heavy rainfall yesterday, and with the Woodville meeting scheduled for tomorrow already abandoned because of surface water, there must be at least some fears over the Trentham meeting being held.

But New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing general manager of racing Tim Aldridge says at the midweek stage, his team believe the meeting will go ahead.

"It was a heavy10 yesterday and we have had a lot of rain, but so far, we have no reason to think the track won't be okay to race," says Aldridge.

"We know it is going to be heavy, probably very heavy, so that is a given, but we would only look at moving the meeting if there were surface water problems.

"That was the issue we had last year with this meeting, the rain was so heavy, but what was different then was the real rain came on Friday and the Saturday morning.

"That left us with no options and we lost the whole meeting and then we had to move the two big jumps races to Hastings.

"But this week I think is different again. The heavy rain is supposed to pass and then there will be a track inspection on Thursday, and if we are good to go, then we will press on."

Aldridge says if club officials are happy with the track tomorrow, it is game on, but if there are doubts, then a stipendiary steward and a senior jockey can be asked to inspect the track further on Friday.

While the forecast suggests surface water won't be an issue for the meeting, the club and NZTR have the option, even though it is not being considered yet, to move the meeting back to Sunday, when there is no other thoroughbred meeting programmed in New Zealand.

"We are trying not to get ahead of ourselves here but that could be a last resort option," admits Aldridge.

"But clearly racing on Saturday is the desired option."

Even more so because while Trentham on a cold winter afternoon is usually hardly a drawcard, there is believed to be decent corporate and hospitality bookings this weekend,
as Wellington is bursting with rugby fans for the All Blacks-Ireland deciding third test.

Hotel rooms are impossible to find in the city and Trentham could barely dream of a more captive audience than travelling Kiwi and Irish rugby fans looking for something to do and somewhere to drink on a Saturday afternoon.

While Trentham will present the most testing of tracks on Saturday, conditions will be far better at Ruakaka for Saturday's other meeting which sees the culmination of the Winter Championship Series, with five finals worth $60,000 a level of stakes rarely seen in New Zealand during winter.

"The series has been a great success, and as you would expect, they have excellent entries," says Aldridge.

"Good on them, too, because this series was first pitched as part of the new innovation fund and it has worked and looks like drawing really good betting races."