Revamped Eagle Farm finally ready for action
A saga stretching back four-and-a-half years will come to its conclusion on the hallowed turf of Eagle Farm, with expectations high that Queensland finally has the world-class racecourse it was promised.
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A SAGA stretching back four-and-a-half years will come to its conclusion this afternoon on the hallowed turf of Eagle Farm, with expectations high that Queensland finally has the world-class racecourse it was promised.
The initial track renovation of Eagle Farm was confirmed in June 2014, with the expectation racing would return to the venue in time for the following year’s winter carnival.
Glowing reports for new surface
Track passes first big galloping test
Goodie confident track will pass test
Instead, delays and political point-scoring meant its initial return did not happen until June 2016.
The bungled renovation was mirrored in the track’s performance.
It was a lemon.
Eventually, after 36 highly scrutinized meetings, Racing Queensland made the inevitable call to rip it up again.
Former Victoria Racing Club administrator Dale Monteith was summonsed to conduct a report into the track’s failings and make recommendations on the best way forward.
It was handed down in August last year, but just like the first time, the construction was marred by inexplicable – and inexcusable – delays.
Participants have waited another 18 months, meaning there has been racing at Queensland’s most important track for just 11 months out of the past four years.
But the silver lining this time is that participants and officials believe they have got it right, having tested the surface over the past fortnight with gallops and official trials.
Leading trainer Tony Gollan and top jockey Jim Byrne are certain this latest rebirth of Eagle Farm will be a success, having tested it first hand over the past fortnight and giving its performance a glowing approval.
“There’s a dramatic difference,” Byrne said.
“They are two completely different tracks.
“I’m more than sure this track will work. It feels fantastic. Horses aren’t slipping on it and they feel very confident.”
Gollan says having Eagle Farm back performing to an elite standard will provide the industry with so much more confidence.
“It’s not even comparable to the last track,” Gollan said.
“This track is everything they told us the last track would be, but never was. It’s really good.
“It’s a huge thing. It’s our No.1 track, and to get it back performing really well will be a huge confidence boost for the industry.”
As late as March this year – and even some time later – there were fears the nightmare of the previous incarnation were going to be re-lived.
Racing Queensland chief executive Eliot Forbes – who had nothing to do with the original track’s failure – had his tenure come to an end when the project stalled.
The Brisbane Racing Club and Racing Queensland were at loggerheads over the way the project was being handled.
But RQ’s appointment of Mick Goodie, who prepared Flemington for more than a decade of Melbourne Cups, and is referred to by new RQ chief executive Brendan Parnell as “the great turf doctor” brought confidence the project could succeed.
Goodie himself has been bullish for some time.
The plan to race at Eagle Farm today was let out of the bag by Goodie at a BRC board meeting a couple of months back.
Officials had consistently run with the line of “we will return when the track tells us its ready” but Goodie’s confidence in the strength of the surface prompted him to reveal his plan, which stunned BRC board members and later RQ officials when they learned of the statement.
“I get reminded about that,” Goodie chuckled while making one of his routine inspections of Eagle Farm last week.
“I said ‘I’m telling you, it’s a moral.’ It’s just the strength of the turf. Look at this (bends down and tries to pull out a clump of grass, which refuses to come out).”
The Brisbane Racing Club’s Matt Rudolph has been at the coalface of the latest project from the outset. After initial struggles he praised the appointment of Goodie, in particular the way he has worked with the BRC track team, and also Racing Queensland Thoroughbred Board representative Mark Sowerby.
“It was a challenging project but we got the right people in the game at the right time,” he said.
“We look forward to the return of Eagle Farm for week to week racing and also our major carnivals.”
Figures from Racing Queensland suggest Eagle Farm is worth an additional $3 million in revenue to the industry every year.
Further to that, there’s a trickle-down effect of lesser tracks being used for meetings at venues like Ipswich, which have had to step into the void created by Eagle Farm’s outage.
Goodie says the new track is so good it will be worth $4 million extra.
“This will be a great track long term and it will be a cash cow,” he says.
An entire industry is hoping today is the first step in proving that statement correct.
Tracking a turf war
June 2014: Treasurer Tim Nicholls announces the first meaningful reconstruction of Eagle Farm in its near 150-year history: a $10 million track rebuild and another $12 million loan to the BRC for tunnel construction. Original timeline had track ready in time for 2015 winter carnival.
August 20, 2014: Last meeting held on ‘old’ Eagle Farm.
2015: Change of government, project delayed. Not fully approved until mid-year.
March 2016: Superstar sprinter Buffering ‘christens’ the new surface with a track gallop. Concerns raised when huge divots fly from the turf.
June 11, 2016: First meeting run on new Eagle Farm. Over the next 11 months, track struggles to improve in a total of 36 meetings run at the venue.
May 27, 2017: Final meeting at Eagle Farm after Australia’s best jockeys described it as the worst surface they had ridden on. Oaks and Stradbroke meetings transferred to Doomben.
August 2017: Monteith Report, inquiring into what went wrong and the best way forward, tabled. Tentative return date of April 2018 mooted by Racing Queensland.
December 2017: Officials concede return will be further delayed and move all winter carnival meetings to Doomben.
January 2018: Project further delayed when appropriate materials cannot be sourced.
March 2018: Former Flemington curator Mick Goodie appointed to consultancy role with RQ to oversee the project.
March 20, 2018: RQ chief executive Eliot Forbes resigns after an earlier threat by new Racing Minister Stirling Hinchliffe that heads would roll over the Eagle Farm delay.
April 2018: Final stretch of turf put down.
October 2018: Goodie tells a BRC board meeting that track will be ready to race on December 22, 2018.
December 4, 2018: First gallops on new course proper. Jockeys give the surface a glowing report.
December 11, 2018: First official trials held. Surface again performs well. RQ and BRC confirm December 22 return.
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