All systems go for Saturday meetings
Saturday’s three thoroughbred meetings seem in New Zealand certain to go ahead despite heavy downpours on Thursday night.
The biggest concern ahead of Easter Saturday racing was the Tauranga meeting but course manager Craig Settle confirmed on Friday that it was not in any danger of being abandoned.
Heavy downpours lashed the East Coast of the North Island on Thursday night as ex-Cyclone Cook travelled down the country but the winds and rainfalls were not as bad as projected.
It was the second week in a row that New Zealand race tracks have been hit by extreme weather events following on from the remnants of Cyclone Debbie that pelted the North Island in the lead up to last Saturday’s racing.
The Tauranga track was drenched with 118mm of rain in the 48 hours leading up to Friday morning’s heavy 11 penetrometer reading.
Strong winds made for more showery rain with only small periods of heavy downpours on Thursday night at the racecourse, Settle said.
He confirmed the track had been draining well on Friday.
‘‘It’s breezy here today, the suns out and its quite warm,’’ Settle said on Friday.
Just what the track conditions will be on Saturday is almost impossible to say because some showery rain was forecast on Saturday, Settle said.
But he predicted the surface could be puggy.
More than 130mm of rain had fallen on the track during the week and the fact that racing was going ahead was a credit to the Tauranga track, Settle and his staff.
Parts of the Hawkes Bay region were hit with rough weather on Thursday night and into Friday morning but the Hastings track remained in good shape.
The Hastings track was back to a slow 9 on Friday morning with 29mm of rain overnight as exCyclone Cook passed through the region.
Racecourse manager Richard Fenwick said it was ‘‘a pretty nasty’’ storm that hit the region on Thursday night but the wind caused more issues than the rain.
Trees were down all around the district and some areas of Hawkes Bay were still without power on Friday but Fenwick said it was windy and dry on Friday which was helping drying conditions.
‘‘We had a few branches down here but we’re pretty much all cleaned up and ready to go,’’ Fenwick said.
Saturday’s Hastings meeting features the Listed $70,000 Hawke’s Bay Gold Cup and the Listed New Zealand Bloodstock Finance Sprint.
The Riverton meeting, that features the Riverton Cup, was the least affected venue.
With just 2mm of rain overnight, the track was rated a dead 4 on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand Racing Board have given its approval to move Te Aroha’s April 21 meeting to the Te Teko racecourse due to significant rainfall and flooding around the Te Aroha region. The venue change will be confirmed on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, Te Aroha’s Group I meeting, that featured the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes, was transferred to Te Rapa because of issues with the track and forecast heavy rain.
A meeting at Te Aroha was called off after just two races on March 17 because of the condition of the track.