Racing: Tough call on watering track

Mark Walker was yesterday scratching around for a rider for King's Chapel in the A$130,000 ($141,000) Royale Corporate Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday.

Walker has had to enter King's Chapel for the Sydney races after late-scratching the stallion from Saturday's $100,000 Family Hotel WFA when it rained at Otaki.

King's Chapel is heading to the A$400,000 George Ryder Stakes on March 19 and needs a replacement lead-up after Saturday's abortive meeting.

"Darren Beadman has committed to riding King's Chapel in the George Ryder and in the All Aged Stakes, but he has to ride one for John Hawkes this Saturday," said Walker yesterday.

The All Aged Stakes (1400m) is for A$400,000 at weight-for-age on Sydney Cup day, April 2.

The Otaki club watered their track heavily on Friday when rain looked likely on Saturday. The footing opened as an easy track, despite officially being on outside verges of firm and quickly went to soft when the light, then mighty rain, followed by showers, set in.

The club will doubtless field criticism for watering the track, but there is little doubt if they had not watered on Friday the light rain on Saturday would have turned the track slippery and the meeting would have been abandoned.

What resulted was not ideal, but in the eyes of most it was a better option than not racing at all.

Mark Walker was not prepared to criticise the management.

"They were damned if they watered and damned if they didn't. It's hard to please everyone."

Another who is not bagging the club is Jim Gibbs, who pulled emerging star stayer Kerry O'Reilly out of the St Leger Trial when the track downgraded.

"They wouldn't have raced if they hadn't put water on the track. Some of the boys [jockeys] were saying the track was moving after the first race, before it rained.

"I never bag track managers - they've got a tough job. I feel sorry for the club," said Gibbs.

There is three weeks to the St Leger at Trentham and Gibbs said he needed time to work out a suitable lead-up after missing Saturday's race.

"That race would have been ideal, but he's a big-striding bloke and he wouldn't have been comfortable on that surface.

"He was a short-priced favourite and it would not have been fair on punters to send him around. Wouldn't have been fair on the horse either."

* At Tauranga on Saturday, showjumping rider Harvey Wilson broke some sort of a record in winning the $40,000 Resort Pacifica Tauranga Classic with Barcelona.

Wilson has not previously trained a winner and broke his maiden in a Listed Stakes race.

He celebrated by riding in a showjumping competition at Foxton yesterday. He has represented New Zealand in two Olympic Games and has dabbled in thoroughbreds as an owner for a lengthy period.

Cameron Lammas, who rode Barcelona, has retained the mount for the $120,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Breeders Stakes at Te Aroha on Saturday week.

Favourite Rapid Kay finished only sixth, but was parked wide.