Melbourne Cup Card

[CSC]

Track won’t be doctored to suit Septimus
Clinton Payne
Sunday, 2 November 2008

Flemington racecourse manager Mick Goodie has said his ideal track for Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup meeting would be a racing surface similar to the one used on Saturday.

When asked if his preferred surface for Tuesday would be the same as last Saturday’s, Goodie replied “yes”.

At last night’s barrier draw, Septimus’ trainer Aidan O’Brien and Coolmore Australia Racing Manager Tom Magnier voiced concerns over Tuesday’s surface after going off comments reported back to them by Septimus’ jockey Johnny Murtagh after he rode Tear’s I Cry in the last race on Saturday.

“Johnny rode in the last and said that the ground was a bit firm,” Magnier said.

The rail for Melbourne Cup day will move out to the 2-metre position and 6 mils of irrigation was put onto the track following yesterday's race meeting.

Goodie is monitoring the weather closely to see if and how much irrigation needs to go into the surface over the next 36 hours with possible thunderstorms and showers forecast.

“I’ll just be going with what I do and what I think is best,” Goodie said.

“I’ll be working within the Racing Victoria policy to provide a track that’s going to race most of the day as a good (3) so in doing that I need to be a dead (4) in the morning.

“For me to be changing the policy from Racing Victoria from one meeting out of 22 a year would be unfair to the people that race here at the other 21.”

The overall track penetrometer taken at 2pm today is 4.67 while the inside of the straight six is 4.65 and the outside is 4.64 and the track is currently rated a dead (4).