BarryB Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 2 minutes ago, Hesi said: So Curious was also on the right track when he said it takes a long time to get a durable turf surface when you seed Think to your own back yard, when you patch sow a dead section of your lawn it grows way quicker than the rest of your grass for about 6 months as it puts most of its energy into leaf rather than root. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hesi Posted April 19 Author Share Posted April 19 2 minutes ago, BarryB said: Nope, but certainly had a lot to do with the building of the track & the team from Aus. I also feel that we as a society have become totally risk averse in the cotton wool society we live in. The mere hint of an issue & the jocks are pulling pin today that 20 yrs ago they never would have & rightly so as there lives are at risk. We have to take this also into context when looking at this stuff & looking back into the past. Health and Safety legislation nowadays, and liability if there is a death or serious injury Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryB Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 (edited) 2 minutes ago, Hesi said: Because the extra excavation was adding to the cost, would this have been the reason why they decided to seed on site as it was cheaper Yes I think so, Aucklands weather also made this a good option as grass grows better here under natural conditions. Edited April 19 by BarryB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hesi Posted April 19 Author Share Posted April 19 Just now, BarryB said: Think to your own back yard, when you patch sow a dead section of your lawn it grows way quicker than the rest of your grass for about 6 months as it puts most of its energy into leaf rather than root. Also if you water a lot for shorter time periods you get shallow roots. Not a total novice on this, have put in many lawns, seeded and turf in a former life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hesi Posted April 19 Author Share Posted April 19 9 minutes ago, BarryB said: Nope, but certainly had a lot to do with the building of the track & the team from Aus. I also feel that we as a society have become totally risk averse in the cotton wool society we live in. The mere hint of an issue & the jocks are pulling pin today that 20 yrs ago they never would have & rightly so as there lives are at risk. We have to take this also into context when looking at this stuff & looking back into the past. Yes, I saw that Martin Neville from Strathayr and 3 others from there onsite from April 2022, Martin Neville as the project co-ordinator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 Well it seemed fine in the first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Squirrel Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 I'm glad Barry has brought some balance to this discussion and I'm sure that the decent souls who have commented in a negative manner will have the good grace to either apologise or acknowledge the track played extremely well if it does what its has done in the first two races for the rest of the program. If it turns to custard later in the day then fair play to you and I will withdraw to a hollow tree with some sour nuts!!. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hesi Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 Yep, early days, but happy to be proven wrong. A very good test for the track so far, I'm sure a few relieved people at Ellerslie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 It was never a wet issue it was the track without rain was too hard many horses have been injured and jarred up on previous days, this is exactly what it was meant to do but they need to fix the hardness on non wet days as the water was going through way to fast from what I was told. Good to see it doing what its meant to in the wet...50% of the job done, now lets hope the hardness issue is fixed too.We need it to be the best, not a white elephant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hesi Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 Wasn't the issue on Karaka night and last Sat with horses slipping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 (edited) So now what will the excuse be...these tracks are meant to be built for rain...this has been a botched job from day one if only they had just followed the full plan for the Strathayr that had been done elsewhere...lets see what excuses they come up with now for the bedding in process...this is fast becoming a unmitigated stuff up and a waste of 55Mill of industry money. Not being negative just being real. Edited April 20 by RJB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hesi Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 Well there is one meeting left at Ellerslie on May 25, you can be pretty assured that won't happen. What is coming out of this after some other comments, is that they raced on it too soon, as pressure probably came from NZ Bloodstock, maybe also Te Akau to run on Jan 27, probably against the advice of Strathayr and the track manager. This will never be acknowledged so it will all continue to be fudged. Very political now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Squirrel Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 F8ck me - they have come wide all day and no slips then this - I give up and it's off to a cold hollow tree! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turny Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 It is a bloody fiasco, logic says let it rest for 6 months plus to bed in Something is very wrong here, time for hard decisions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryB Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 Randwick abandoned, do we feel the same about that guys?. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 1 minute ago, BarryB said: Randwick abandoned, do we feel the same about that guys?. Come on it's apples and oranges...this is a shambles sorry for 55 million they never followed the correct way to do things..so nobody to blame but themselves...how can you defend the indefensible ??? Ellerslie are a law unto themselves untouchable and they now everything...well now it seems not. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryB Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 19 minutes ago, RJB said: Come on it's apples and oranges...this is a shambles sorry for 55 million they never followed the correct way to do things..so nobody to blame but themselves...how can you defend the indefensible ??? Ellerslie are a law unto themselves untouchable and they now everything...well now it seems not. Tell me what didn't they follow?. I know exactly what they did, so I am very interested to hear what you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryB Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 (edited) 29 minutes ago, RJB said: Come on it's apples and oranges...this is a shambles sorry for 55 million they never followed the correct way to do things..so nobody to blame but themselves...how can you defend the indefensible ??? Ellerslie are a law unto themselves untouchable and they now everything...well now it seems not. By the way, I am not defending anything, I know exactly what they did & you are talking on a subject full of emotion & limited fact. You are obviously from the Lower North Island or the South Island & your dislike is more around Auckland than anything else, typical Kiwi knocking machine & love it when things fail. Edited April 20 by BarryB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hesi Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 If you feel comfortable about posting Barry, I would love to know exactly what they did. You have already explained about being over budget on the excavations and therefore the need to save costs on the turf by seeding. I'm aware that Strathayr grow the turf off site in Aus, then do a relocation, a bigger version of Ready Lawn here in NZ. So I presume all the guidelines for growing turf by seeding came from Strathayr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryB Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 Hesi, short answer is No. Guys like RJB know more than I do on the subject obviously. What I can say is NO process was not followed & nothing was skimped, all of that talk is fucking bullshit. I think some are jealous that the upper North Island is where our sport is concentrated & love it when it fails for whatever reason. What they fail to understand is that if ellerslie fails then NZ racing is totally fucked & wont exist in 5 yrs. Either get behind it & support or find an alternate interest as that's where it will fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hesi Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 Thought it might, understandable. Another point, it is not actually industry money, Ellerslie paid for it from the sale of the hill (I think). And even if the turf layer has to be redone, Ellerslie will pay for that and it will only be a part of the 55 mil, as much of that covered the excavation and drainage. car parks, water storage pond, all of which are fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryB Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 8 minutes ago, Hesi said: Thought it might, understandable. Another point, it is not actually industry money, Ellerslie paid for it from the sale of the hill (I think). And even if the turf layer has to be redone, Ellerslie will pay for that and it will only be a part of the 55 mil, as much of that covered the excavation and drainage. car parks, water storage pond, all of which are fine. Exactly, its am emotive subject for sure, most of which is posted from those who have limited to zero knowledge on what is involved or happened. As I said above, if this doesn't work then NZ racing is fucked & wont exist in 5 yrs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 9 minutes ago, BarryB said: Exactly, its am emotive subject for sure, most of which is posted from those who have limited to zero knowledge on what is involved or happened. As I said above, if this doesn't work then NZ racing is fucked & wont exist in 5 yrs. Well it looks pretty Donald ducked...and no I am not from the lower North Island and I want nothing more than those who stuffed this up to come clean as you are 100% right if this is not the Mecca showpiece then NZ racing is done..Entain will walk away. Anyway I just feel the general public deserve answers and all they are coming out with is spin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hesi Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 Yep, why can't they just come clean and say pretty much what has been unearthed (excuse the pun) so far. I'm sure that would keep most industry people happy Excavation went over budget Decided to seed to try and pull back some of those costs Seeding done in accordance with Strathayr standard protocol Seeding had hiccups that were exacerbated by the racing return deadline Strathayr have full confidence with more time the track will be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryB Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 (edited) 27 minutes ago, RJB said: .Entain will walk away. Entain will walk away regardless RJB, NZ racing doesn't pay its way & hasn't done so for 20 yrs. What other business model gets to survive on the back of the taxpayer like racing does? look at all the job losses coming from Govt departments, yet NZ racing is free from any of it. Tough decisions need to made that will upset plenty in the industry, buts its now time to try & get it back to something resembling a business or cut it adrift. Edited April 20 by BarryB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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