THE fate of tomorrow’s Port Macquarie race meeting hinges on an inspection of the track by stewards today.
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Port Macquarie Race Club secretary/manager Michael Bowman was loathe to predict what the outcome of the inspection might be.
“However, the track is very heavy and we don’t need any more rain,” he said yesterday afternoon.
“I think we are balancing on a knife’s edge at the moment.”
More than 300ml has fallen on the track in the last week, more heavy rain yesterday morning.
If the meeting goes ahead, punters will have to go looking for mud-
runners and the final race, the John Oxley Volkswagen Benchmark 60, will provide them with a
conundrum.
Seven of the nine runners have won on a heavy track while one other, the Neil Godbolt-trained Get On The Grange, won on the slow track at the last Port meeting.
That was one of four winners Godbolt led in on the day.
The only runner that has not won on the heavy is the Gordon Yorke-trained Cap Bianco, to be ridden by Nicholas Perrett.
The horse with the best heavy track form is the Godbolt-trained Long Journey Home (Gabrielle Coleman) with two wins and three placings in that type of going.
At his last start at Taree last Tuesday, he finished second on a heavy track at his second run back from a spell when ridden by Coleman.
“It was a good honest run by him and Gabrielle rode him well,” Godbolt said.
“He will have no trouble backing up.”
Godbolt said Long Journey Home and the other five horses he had accepted with would all start.
“All six can handle the heavy conditions but Long Journey Home really does love it,” Godbolt said.
An interesting runner is the Patinack Farm-owned Washer (Dale Spriggs) which will be having his first start for Wayne Wilkes after being transferred from John Thompson.
The three-year-old showed a liking for a heavy track when second behind the Kris Lees-trained Soapy Star at Muswellbrook last June.