Curators lauded for a record setting season

The major races of the 2015/16 season at Tabcorp Park Melton and Victoria’s regional venues have seen a large contingent of track curators recognised for their outstanding efforts, with many track records tumbling in feature events.

Regional track records have been obliterated in the Swan Hill, Stawell, Wedderburn, Geelong, Shepparton, Ballarat and Terang pacing cups, with new records also for trotters at Shepparton and Bendigo.

Victoria leads the way in the training and mentoring of track curators and has run regular track maintenance seminars for some years.

These seminars have grown and been attended by up to 60 curators, including strong representation from Queensland, Western Australia, New South Wales, Tasmania and New Zealand. Last year seminars concentrated on Victorian track staff, with four regional sessions held that focused on practical demonstrations on the track.

The HRV Board and Track Sub-Committee have been very supportive and proactive in ensuring the best possible maintenance methods and recognition of the state’s curators.

The Sub-Committee focuses on the latest design technology in the construction and upgrading of tracks but also on the continuous monitoring and improvement of track maintenance and encouragement for clubs to have access to appropriate track machinery.

The most recent track upgrades at Mildura and Horsham have seen increased cambers, new track bases and surfaces focused on reducing stress on horses. Already new track records have been set at both venues.

HRV has stimulated clubs to use a polo citrus dust suppressant when watering, which has proven very helpful in the retention of moisture within the surface material and has gone a step further by initiating a successful trial of applying canola oil to the race track at Shepparton, which has received extremely positive feedback and results.

Many clubs have also been proactive in enrolling key staff in an accredited program in track maintenance conducted by the Victorian Harness Racing Industry Training Centre.

The Tabcorp Park track team of Jordan Robinson, Chris Lambrecht and Tom Byrne had the track in tip top order on Hunter Cup night as track records went by the wayside in the Del-Re National AG Hunter Cup, Seelite Windows & Doors Australian Trotting Grand Prix and the state’s fastest mile rate was lowered to 1:50.8 for the 1720m journey in the Bertocchi Free For All.

Tabcorp Park Melton track manager Jordan Robinson said key to preparing an ideal track was “getting plenty of moisture into it and conditioning prior to the races, which will lead to a nice cushioned surface that the horses will thrive on and run accordingly”.

“As has been constantly emphasised at HRV track seminars, the need of providing a hard (road-like) surface to produce speed is not necessary. What we strive for is to apply abundant moisture, which provides a fluffy cushioned surface with plenty of give that will make the horses more comfortable and ultimately keep them sound and hopefully prolong their racing future.”

“Plenty of time and effort is required to get the track in perfect order and our track team at Tabcorp Park is meticulous in undertaking regular grading to attain a consistent thickness, ensuring plentiful water is applied prior and during the races to achieve optimum moisture content and conditioning the track to the precise depth. We have found the use of polo citrus not only assists to quell the dust but more importantly helps in holding the material together, which provides the traction to generate speed.

“We are fortunate here at major race meetings when presentations can limit preparation time that we have the capability of utilising two conditioners to prepare the track between races. There is no shadow of doubt that conditioning between races provides the best outcome, which is something we have always done.”

Track record broken on Cup/Carnival nights (October 2015-April 2016):

Pacers:

Track	Distance	Horse	Date	Mile Rate
SWAN HILL	2790m SS	ARDEN ROONEY NZ	17 Oct 2015	1:57.3
STAWELL	2590m SS	YANKEE ROCKSTAR	6 Dec 2015	1:58.9
WEDDERBURN	2555m SS	ARBER	13 Dec 2015	2:01.1
GEELONG	2570mm MS	IT ITS BILLY	2 Jan 2016	1:56.6
SHEPPARTON	2190m MS	GLORY DAZE	16 Jan 2016	1:55.7
SHEPPARTON	2690m SS	OHOKA PUNTER NZ	16 Jan 2016	1:57.0
BALLARAT	2710m MS	SMOLDA	23 Jan 2016	1:55.3
TABCORP PARK	1720 m MS	COLD MAJOR	6 Feb 2016	1:50.8
TABCORP PARK	3280m SS	SMOLDA	6 Feb 2016	1:57.3
BENDIGO	1650m MS	HALL OF FAMER	13 Feb 2016	1:52.1
TERANG	2680m MS	GLENFERRIE HOOD NZ	20 Feb 2016	1:56.3
KILMORE	2690m MS	YANKEE ROCKSTAR	19 Mar 2016	1:58.7
ARRARAT	2570m SS	IDEAL SUCCESS NZ	26 Mar 2016	2:00.5
WARRAGUL	2627m MS	NIKE FRANCO NZ	27 Mar 2016	1:57.4
MILDURA	2600m MS	STUNNING GRIN	5 Apr 2016	1:57.5

 

Trotters

Track	Distance	Horse	Date	Mile Rate
ST ARNAUD	2120m SS	LOMBO SCRUTINIZER	15 Nov 2015	2:06.1
SHEPPARTON	2190m MS	GLENFERRIE TYPHOON NZ	16 Jan 2016	1:56.2
BALLARAT	2710m SS	MONBET NZ	23 Jan 2016	2::00.1
TABCORP PARK	2240m MS	KEYSTONE DEL NZ	6 Feb 2016	1:56.0
BENDIGO	1650m MS	GLENFERRIE TYPHOON NZ	13 Feb 2016	1:54.4
CHARLTON	2100m MS	UWOULDNTBELIEVEIT	28 Feb 2016	2:02.3
CRANBOURNE	1609m MS	KEYSTONE DELNZ	5 Mar 2016	1:56.1
BOORT	2250m SS	GIDAH	20 Mar 2016	2:06.1
ECHUCA	2530m SS	ROSTEVARREN	2 Apr 2016	2:04.6
MILDURA	2600m SS	OUR TWENTYEN NZ	7 Apr 2016	2:02.7