New Sunshine Coast Turf Club synthetic track ready

By Jordan Gerrans

The Sunshine Coast Turf Club’s brand new synthetic track is ready for use, with the first gallopers to go around it this month.

Work started in March on a $8.9 million new synthetic track, installing the new all-weather Polytrack surface at the busy Corbould Park venue, with the project completed in the last week of June. 

Corbould Park is one of the busiest training centres in Queensland with over 400 horses utilising the tracks every day, and Sunshine Coast Turf Club CEO John Miller says local trainers are keen to make use of the new track.

“Our trainers will have a great new surface to work on,” Miller said.

“The thing about the all-weather synthetic tracks is that the technology has improved so much.

“Obviously we had a cushion track here for 11 years and it has just completely changed from that surface, they are completely different now days.

“They are common in a lot of places; all the Sydney metropolitan venues have one as a training surface and obviously race on them in Victoria and now in New Zealand.

“It is a common well established product now and you put them in with the confidence that the trainers will accept them.”

Sunshine Coast-based trainer Gary Duncan is looking forward to getting his team of 15 horses based at Corbould Park around the new track.

“The old track was worn out so hopefully the new track is very good,” Duncan said.

“The synthetic is supposed to be all-weather so we can gallop on it.

“The new track, you can do all your work on it, it is going to be good.”

Once the new all-weather Polytrack surface is open for training on, it will also be available to host racing meetings on as well.

The days of losing a meeting and having to transfer it to another track following heavy rain will be gone.

The Club is also hopeful that if other tracks are too wet from rain, the Sunshine Coast could also pick up meetings from other clubs.

The first synthetic races back at the Sunshine Coast may not happen for a little while yet Miller says, as the Club will liaise with local trainers around when all parties feel it is appropriate.

“The Club's plans, working with Racing Queensland, we just want to make sure the maintenance and the preparation of the track, we work out the right methodology to do that to suit our trainers up here,” Miller said.

“Obviously it is a different climate to Victoria and we may look to run hybrid meetings into the future, with let’s say six meetings on the turf and two on the all-weather track just to get trainers used to it.

“Hopefully we can get that acceptance level as opposed to scheduling a big run of all-weather meetings in a row and not doing it properly, we want to make sure it is right and we are preparing the track the way the local trainers want it.

“If we can get that acceptance, it will roll out really well and obviously with the Gold Coast looking at putting one in one as well.”

Miller says the Club feels for local trainers over last three months going without a synthetic track to work their horses on while the new one was being installed, but believes they will now be able to reap the benefits.