Punters hold fire amid fears Doncaster meeting could fall victim to big wet

Betting on the Doncaster Mile slowed to a crawl on Friday as Sydney’s big wet had punters fearing the first day of The Championships at Randwick could be called off, despite assurances to the contrary by Australian Turf Club and Racing NSW officials.

Racing NSW chief steward Steve Railton walked the sodden Randwick track on Friday afternoon after it had been soaked by more than 80 millimetres of rain with the promise of more to come. The volume of rain between now and Saturday morning is set to determine whether the meeting will go ahead.

Racing NSW stewards Kim Kelly and Steve Railton inspect Randwick with racecourse manager Michael Wood on Friday.

“The track actually surprised me how well it had coped with the rain,” Railton said. “It was only a heavy 8 and would have been raceable when we looked at it.

“It had been dry leading into this week, and that has helped a lot. However, it will come down to how much rain we get overnight.

“We have a mark [from Friday’s inspection] to use as a comparison when we have another look at it at 5.30am [on Saturday morning]. We will make a decision about the meeting by 7am.”

Ladbrokes reported punters “were taking a wait-and-see approach to Sydney’s second biggest race meeting”.

“Punters are very cautious for a Friday before such a big meeting,” Ladbrokes’ Adam Hamilton said. “Usually they are keen to back one or two in most races. They are not sure if the meeting will go ahead – and if it does, most of them want to see how the track will race before having a bet.”

Another Wil remains the Doncaster favourite at $3.70 in a market that has changed little, although money for Militarize pushed the three-time group 1 winner into second pick at $8.50.

Premier Hong Kong jockey Zac Purton flew in on Friday morning to ride the Dundeel three-year-old and a number of other group 1 chances.

“At least I know he has won a heavy track at Randwick and won over a mile as well,” Purton said. “But when the track gets this wet, the form really goes out the window. It becomes more about riding the track and finding the right place to be.

“Militarize is certainly good enough to win a Doncaster but mostly the three-year-olds that do it don’t have to carry 54 kilos, so he will need to be pretty good to win it.”

ATC racecourse manager Michael Wood is confident the track will be fit for racing as long as the rain stops on Saturday.

“The forecast says it should stop by [Saturday] morning and if the sun comes, the track will be ready to race because it has such a good base to it at the moment,” Wood said.

The meeting is set to be the first program to have a National tote pool with all states betting into the World Pool, which will operate on all 10 races.

If the meeting is called off, it’s likely the carnival will be moved back a week with the Doncaster meeting to be run on April 13 and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes to run on April 20.

All bets placed after the fields were declared would be refunded but futures bets would stand if the meeting is run within seven days.

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