Australian Turf Club officials will meet with the Liverpool City Council planning department next month in an effort to solve the impasse that threatens to put the Warwick Farm redevelopment back 12 months.
The area of concern is a retaining wall which will be built for a couple of hundred metres along the Georges River from the 1400m chute, to widen the track by up to four metres and allow bigger fields.
Work on the surface at Warwick Farm could be delayed.Credit: Getty
Council has concerns about the development application as the Warwick Farm site is part of a floodplain for the river and under its planning rules no construction can be approved.
The club argues the track could not be built these days under the present rules on the floodplain map of the Liverpool council.
It is understood a construction company was ready to start the wall this month and had already purchased materials. No meetings had been planned for Warwick Farm beyond this month because work was expected to start this week.
Widening the track would allow extra runners from the 1400m start, but there could be a compromise where it remains at its present boundaries.
The major parts of the work are to put in 21st-century irrigation and to camber turns and the home straight, which will effectively make the track wider. The Warwick Farm straight, after years of quick fixes, falls away to the outside fence making the outside six metres of the track unusable.
Racing NSW, which is helping to fund the refurbishment, will want the project to go ahead given it would provide Sydney a racetrack with a surface that dries quickly and effectively.
The Warwick Farm works are part of an ATC plan to regenerate Sydney’s racing surfaces with Randwick and Rosehill’s courses proper to follow within a decade.
Racing NSW would be keen not to get caught up in red tape again, like the redevelopment of the Kembla Grange track has been for the past six years. The Kembla A-grass and course proper were supposed to be rebuilt after Newcastle completed its new track works in 2017, but there hasn’t been a sod turned at the Wollongong track yet.
Brenton Avdulla will take up a contract in Hong Kong from next month.Credit: Getty
Hong Kong Avdulla’s new home
Group 1-winning jockey Brenton Avdulla will head to Hong Kong with his family this week to take up a riding contract for the remainder of the season.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club announcement on Friday tagged Racing NSW, showing the further warming of relations between the Asian power and the state’s regulator.
Avdulla will ride at Tuesday’s Anzac Day meeting at Randwick before leaving. He will look to establish himself in Hong Kong as a lightweight option before the season ends in July and hope for an extension to ride into the 2023-24 season.
Regan Bayliss aboard Pride of Jenni before the JRA Plate.Credit: Getty
Inquiry follows Pride Of Jenni owner complaint
An inquiry into the runaway tactics Regan Bayliss used on Pride Of Jenni in the JRA Plate will be held on Monday after owner Tony Ottobre filed a written complaint.
Bayliss was given instructions via text message “to lead by a big space” and told stewards that he was “bamboozled” before going out and leading by up to 50 metres in the group 3 at Randwick on April 15.
Ottobre and Pride Of Jenni’s co-trainer David Eustace will appear via video link.
Pride of Jenni finished the race in eighth-place, more than eight lengths behind the winner.
The stable’s head of owners relations Gabrielle Nutt, who initially received the text message before passing its contents on to Bayliss, has also been instructed to attend.
Vet check for group 1 runners in Queensland
Queensland Racing Integrity Commission stewards will require all group 1 and two-year-old stakes runners to provide a veterinary certificate of fitness at acceptance time during this year’s winter carnival.
QRIC chief steward Josh Adams said it is part of horse welfare requirements leading into the major races during the carnival.
“Additional information from stable veterinarians will be invaluable to QRIC veterinarians during their pre-race examinations, improving the safety of both horses and jockeys,” Adams said.
“QRIC stewards are looking to expand on this process for future carnivals, and we believe that the winter carnival is the ideal opportunity to launch our efforts to bolster animal welfare oversight in this major series on the state’s racing calendar.”
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