Racing: Heavy tracks set to influence major Australasian raceday

Nature Strip. Photo / Supplied

One word will dominate arguably the most important day of the racing spring right around Australasia today: heavy.

Heavy rain bringing heavy tracks will be in the forefront of the minds of everybody involved in the meetings at Hastings for the Group 1 Classic and at Randwick and Caulfield, which host the A$15 million Everest and A$5 million Caulfield Cup.

While Melbourne Cup day remains the raceday of the year for most on the fringes of the industry, today is a spring rarity that has massive races both here and in the two main states of Australia.

The $330,000 Classic at Hastings is one of our richest weight-for-age races and the field, already depleted by withdrawals, will have to plow through a Heavy 10, an almost fitting way to end a wild spring carnival in Hawke's Bay.

The rain had stopped in Hastings yesterday but with no sun to dry the track the 2040m is going to be an enormous fitness test and could even bring genuine mudders like Justaskme and Soldier Boy up to the level of the established Group 1 horses like Prise De Fer and Vernanme.

The biggest winner from the track conditions though should be Mustang Valley, who loves the heavy, the Hastings track and is in the right form to win the Group 1 to set up her future broodmare career.

"I was worried about her busy last month but she galloped well on Thursday so everybody at home is happy with her," said trainer Andrew Forsman.

Punters could have been well advised to take the early TAB odds about horses they think will enjoy the mud today as it wouldn't surprise to see significant scratchings on Saturday morning and with the TAB's new "no deductions rule" there could be punters who locked in far greater odds than what their horses start at.

One race punters shouldn't expect scratchings in is the Everest, the Sydney dash for serious cash which has changed the landscape of October racing.

While the New Zealand breeding and training industry may be far suited to chasing Caulfield Cup glory the hype and prolonged exposure to the Everest is significant.

No New Zealand-trained horse has started in the Everest but today's defending champion and warm favourite Nature Strip is part-owned here and trained and ridden by expats Chris Waller and James McDonald.

Nature Strip was stunning at Ascot in June and can handle wet tracks so efficiently the heavy surface won't bother him and maybe negates any disadvantage of his barrier 12.

Last season's Queensland Derby winner Pinarello, trained at Cambridge, also races at Randwick today and while co-trainer Roger James is thrilled with his condition he will want track improvement which almost certainly won't come.

The Caulfield Cup favourite Smokin Romans was bred at White Robe Lodge in Otago and would provide the career highlight of local legend and 85-year-old breeder Brian Anderton if he can win the iconic race.

Also racing at Caulfield and expected to win is Mr Maestro (R3, No 1) while Forsman says Saint Bathans (R2, No 6) is ready to run a big race.