Drama surrounds the start of a big Group 1 day of racing at Caulfield, with track staff sensationally forced to move the rail out after a pre-race inspection by senior jockeys.
The start to the race meeting had been delayed for sometime as staff worked to move the rail, with race 1 finally kicking off just after 12:15. The rail was eventually moved a further 4 meters out to the 10 meter mark.
The rail was most recently in the 4m position, having been in the true and 10m spots at the preceding two meetings.
It is believed a number of senior riders were unhappy with sections of the track before the meeting, including recent remedial works that included replaced divots. Betsy has also been told there was concerns around where the rail was formerly plugged into the track.
Footage from Channel 7 shows former jockey Darren Beadman on the track picking up clumps of dirt where divots had been filled.
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The track received 6mm of water over the last 24 hours, with Melbourne basking in sunshine. The track, according to RV Stewards, was rated a Good 4 early this morning.
RV chief Steward Rob Montgomery said it ”wasn’t a great start” to the day, but also made point the track had taken a heavier toll from taking Moonee Valley’s racing.
”So it’s been identified that there’s some divotting towards the inside section of the track. It was identified when we inspected the track and the riders when they were walking the track.,” he told racing.com.
”A few of the divots are loose, they haven’t taken. This is normal remedial work that the track staff should repair the divots. But a few of the divots haven’t taken, so we’ve decided to move the rail out. It’s initially going to be three meters, but now it’s going to be four meters. And that’s from the 350 metres to the winning post. The rest of the track’s fine, so the rail will remain the same position there.”
An update on the Race 1 start time will be provided once the completion time for the required works is confirmed.
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The MRC has been contacted for comment.
On track broadcaster, Clint Hutchinson, described the situation ”potentially an OH&S type situation’’.
‘’It’s big news, and we knew something was up. There were a lot of riders out here inspecting that inside section of the track,’’ he said on racing.com.
‘’And yeah, like you said, there’s been some work done. And ultimately, it could be potentially an OH&S type situation. I suppose had they decided to continue on where it is, because basically there’s been divots which have been filled, and they’ve been coming out in clumps. That’s effectively as technical as I can get.’’
The Caulfield track is due for a significant upgrade post Spring after a series of track issues, starting with the William Reid Stakes in March.
The track, however, had played well in recent meetings.
