Shaun Inguanzo
PRESSURE is mounting on Sandown’s track manager to prepare a good track for this Saturday’s Sandown Classic meeting.
Track manager Tim Bailey this week declared he would prepare a good track for Saturday’s $401,000 Sandown Classic.
Mr Bailey said yesterday (Wednesday) he had not received calls or pressure from trainers in the wake of controversy following the Melbourne Cup’s dead track rating.
He confirmed he was aiming to produce a goodrated track for Saturday’s meeting, a surface Cranbourne trainer Doug Harrison and his Sandown hopeful Natural Blitz were banking on.
Mr Harrison has been travelling around Australia with Natural Blitz in preparation for the Classic.
“(Natural Blitz) doesn’t like a dead track,” he said. “We have been touring around the countryside with him to get good tracks, and now he is back on track.”
Mr Harrison said the Sandown Classic was the pinnacle event of Natural Blitz’s current campaign, which included fourth place in this year’s Caulfield Cup.
“We are banking on getting a good surface,” he said. “But Sandown usually brings up a pretty good surface.”
Mr Bailey said the Hillside track would be used for the Classic – Sandown’s biggest race meeting of the year – and it was in good condition having not been used for seven weeks. He said the aim was to present a goodrated track with a bit of cushion in it.
Mr Bailey said the latter was a better description of what he expected Sandown to be for the Classic.
“We have grass at 140 millimetres high, and on race day that will give good cushion to the horses,” he said.
>>>For more on the Sandown Classic, see Star Sport.
