Gold Coast track stripped of meeting as Racing Queensland boss concedes ‘we have to serve up better’
The heavily criticised new Gold Coast track has been stripped of a meeting as Racing Queensland boss Jason Scott admits the surface was not up to scratch last Saturday.
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Racing Queensland boss Jason Scott has conceded the maligned Gold Coast track was simply not good enough for the $2m QTIS Jewel meeting on Saturday, as officials confirmed they have stripped a meeting off the new surface next Saturday to give it a month-long break.
Jockeys and trainers blasted the sandy surface on Saturday, which saw significant kickback and on-speed runners favoured all day, which was made worse by persistent hot wind gusts.
Scott said there was not enough water applied to the track in the lead-up to the rich showcase meeting and said they are committed to getting the track up to speed following high-level meetings on Monday.
“Racing Queensland the Gold Coast Turf Club are both really disappointed and committed to rectifying it,” Scott said.
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“Greg Puckeridge from Racing Queensland and Nevesh (Ramdhani) at the Gold Coast Turf Club were working together and we didn’t get enough water on the track, for whatever reason.
“It has been publicised some jockeys rode it at 5.30am in the morning and said it was fine, but the heat and the wind obviously changed that.
“That’s not an acceptable excuse, we have to serve up tracks that are better than that.”
It comes on the back of years of trouble and a number of rebuilds at Eagle Farm in Brisbane, which saw Queensland’s premier track in and out of action, but has since prevailed as one of the most consistent surfaces in the country.
Scott said despite a lot of commentary on social media, cool heads will prevail when it comes to the new Gold Coast track.
“We have had 24 months of good Saturday tracks in Queensland, despite some of the panic that is happening from people who should know better, this is a blip and not a long-term problem with the track,” he said.
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“We have moved the meeting next Saturday, there was clearly a lack of moisture there on the weekend for the Jewel.
“We are firmly committed to (improving it) and in four weeks time we will see a track that looks more like it did on Magic Millions day than what we saw on Saturday.
“The one meeting between now and four weeks time has been moved to the poly.”
Gold Coast officials expect the new track to carry a significant load in the future, with lights in the process of being installed and a $1m Magic Millions 2YO race to be run during a night meeting on May 24, ahead of the group 1 Doomben Cup a day later.
Originally published as Gold Coast track stripped of meeting as Racing Queensland boss concedes ‘we have to serve up better’
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