Polytrack debut a tick for participants

By Jordan Gerrans

Leading industry participants have been pleased with the performance of the brand new Polytrack at the Sunshine Coast Turf Club since the surface opened to racing last month.

The Corbould Park track has hosted two recent meetings, both transferred following heavy rain, making its debut on a Friday night in late November before last Wednesday’s Doomben meeting was moved north.

The Wednesday meeting proceeded even with heavy rain in the region throughout the day, with all eight events run and won, handing valuable prize money to participants and owners.

The new all-weather Polytrack is a key element of a $8.9 million project at the track, which also includes important irrigation and drainage works to be conducted at Corbould Park.

Multiple Group-1 winning hoop Jim Byrne thought the new Polytrack would be like the old cushion track the Sunshine Coast previously raced on, but was pleasantly surprised with the performance on Wednesday.

“I am very happy to ride on it, it felt good, but it is still very new,” Byrne, who rode three winners on Wednesday, said.

“Fingers crossed they maintain it correctly and if they do, we should not have any problems going forward I would have thought.

“There are some people in the industry that do not have confidence in the track yet.

“I honestly believe that there is a place for tracks like this in Queensland.”

The 50-year-old Byrne was never a fan of the old cushion track at the Sunshine Coast and would not take rides there.

He felt the new Polytrack would be like the old surface but was pleased to see it was not and is keen to ride on it going forward.

Eagle Farm-based trainer Chris Anderson took three from his team to the new Polytrack on its opening night and trained a winner at the track on Wednesday, with Minks Star winning well in the driving rain.

“It has a place for racing in Queensland for wet weather and to be honest, I would only be putting my lesser horses on it,” Anderson said.

“If we are going to get washed out and lose a meeting, I think it is a great opportunity for horses that want to go around on it, giving them the opportunity to do so.

“I would rather see a horse win a race for their owners, to get some income, instead of there not being a race at all.

“I support the track being used in wet weather scenarios.”

Of his gallopers that have tested out the new Polytrack on race day, Anderson was happy with how they have come through their runs as they progress through their preparations.

“They all came through it in good order and have not had any issues as a result of going around on it,” Anderson said.

“To run a race meeting in those conditions we saw was phenomenal, it was insane some of the weather.

“I was pleasantly surprised with the way the track went, to be honest.”

Experienced rider Byrne was glad that horses received minimal kick up in the run while noting that some of his mounts did fatigue more than he would have expected on the grass.

“Riding on it, it felt really good last week considering the amount of water we got,” Byrne said.

“And on the day we had heavy, heavy rain.

“The only problem I found with the track was that when the barriers had been over the track and we had to go over where the barriers had been, it seemed pool a lot of water there.

“But the moment they fluffed it back up again, it alleviated that problem straight away.

“The feeling that horses gave me, it was nice in behind horses as we were not getting kick back – it was only coming up to their breast – horses that were travelling in behind did not seem to get any kick up in their face, they do not mind travelling in behind.”

Former jockey and now Brisbane trainer Chris Munce believes hoops will take time to learn how to best ride on the new surface, describing it as completely different to riding on grass.

“There has to be a place for it in racing, but I think every track needs to have one of these Polytracks put in South East Queensland: Gold Coast, Eagle Farm – we need to have one put in so our horses can work on it,” Munce said.

“It is a track where you do not lose a meeting.

“There is no way known to man they would have raced last Wednesday at the Sunshine Coast if it was on the grass.

“To get through the whole meeting, with eight winners, everyone was able to collect a little bit of prize money.

“There is a place for it.”

The Polytrack upgrade was co-funded via the Queensland Government, Racing Queensland and the Sunshine Coast Turf Club.