The reconstructed home-turn at Awapuni racecourse in Palmerston North will make a race day return on March 1 next year, however, it is reliant on a satisfactory trial day in January.
Trials were held on the reconstructed section on Tuesday, but a small section of the track did raise a slight concern for RACE Group tracks manager Kim Treweek
“The majority of the new section raced really well (at the trials) but there was a 50m inside section, around the 600m, which was a bit softer and this created some inconsistencies,” Treweek said.
“Horses had been working around the turn for a number of weeks but we had 32mls of rain in the 48 hours before the trials and that showed that it needed a bit more time. We want everything to be 100 percent before we commit to racing on it.”
As a result, the 2100m races scheduled for the Christmas meeting at Awapuni, including the Gr.3 Manawatu Cup, will be extended to 2200m.