Matamata is set to host the Group 1 Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m) for the second time in three years after a slippery track forced the abandonment of Saturday’s blockbuster race meeting at Hastings.
The second day of the Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival had promised so much, with quality fields set to compete under blue skies. But a short burst of rain late on Friday afternoon created a slippery layer on the surface of the track, which was rated Good4 on Friday and Soft5 on Saturday morning.
The effects of that moisture were easy to see in the opening race on the card, the MacTaggart Family Gratitude Stakes (2100m). The Kevin Myers-trained Just Charlie clearly slipped, free of any interference, while rounding the turn out of the home straight. The meeting was initially put back by one race while a Verti-Drain was deployed to that section of the track, but a delegation of jockeys and trainers were still not confident that the track would be safe for racing and the meeting was abandoned.
”The Hastings track had a full renovation earlier in the year and was in absolutely beautiful condition for the first day of the carnival, so this has probably come out of the blue a little bit,” New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing’s chief operating officer Darin Balcombe said.
”From what we can see, there was 1mm to 3mm of rain yesterday afternoon, which is probably the worst thing that could have happened, and it’s obviously just formed a bit of a slippery layer on top. We can’t say for sure until we have a full review of what’s happened, but that appears to be what the issue is.