By MICHAEL GUERIN
There were some unusual sights at Avondale yesterday.
The 14-race, dual-code meeting meant gallopers had to be sneaked out of one side of the birdcage after their races to avoid being startled by their sulky-towing cousins passing on the other side.
And there was actually something of a crowd, which at Avondale on a Wednesday is also unusual.
But the most unusual sight of all was happy racing administrators. Heaps of them.
Racing club officials who are 100 per cent thrilled with their meetings are as common as satisfied Super 12 supporters these days, but there were smiles everywhere yesterday.
Officials from both the Avondale Jockey Club and Kumeu Trotting Club were beaming after the 14-race programme which, remarkably, went off at intervals of less than 20 minutes without a hitch.
"This is three times the crowd we would usually have at a Wednesday meeting," said Avondale manager Jim Patterson.
"We couldn't be happier with the response and are looking forward to trying to make the same fixture even more successful next season."
Kumeu president Peter Smith was even more glowing in his praise of the inaugural dual codes meeting.
"Our turnover was massively above budget, both on and off course," he said.
The eight harness races, while hardly boasting the best horses the code can offer, attracted well over $500,000 off course and broke the $100,000 mark on course.
"Really the meeting has been a huge success and it should be even bigger next year," said Smith.
The sight of sulkies and the birdcage detour after their races were the only real changes for the gallopers yesterday while the harness horses enjoyed one of the best grass tracks in the north.
Avondale is near-perfect for harness racing, as it does not have too many trackwork crossings to encourage wayward standardbreds into a break and does not have any significant climbs, such as the one Ellerslie has when leaving the home straight.
"The track is in good condition and very fast," said driver Todd Mitchell, who reined Smithie's Delight to victory.
"That is why it was hard for horses to come from behind in so many races because they were running some handy times for a grass track."
The two clubs are scheduled to run another meeting next March.
The success of yesterday's venture could tempt the Auckland Trotting Club to move at least one of its fixtures to a grass track, perhaps Pukekohe, when it closes Alexandra Park for two months next season to allow the development of the infield carparking facilities.
A club survey of northern trainers about the shutdown suggested most would prefer to race on the Cambridge all-weather track in that time but a Pukekohe grass track meeting, or another Avondale fixture, particularly on a Sunday, could be a crowd-puller.
Racing: Sulkies, saddles and smiles as codes clash
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