Weather the key to Moonee Valley track

Moonee Valley track manager Marty Synan was happy to see the strong winds disappear ahead of track gallops in the lead up to the Group 1 Moir Stakes meeting.

Synan said had those gallops been scheduled for Monday morning instead of Tuesday, they would not have gone ahead as part of the running rail had been blown down in the strong winds that prevailed on Sunday night.

Those strong winds have made track preparation difficult for Synan and his staff, although he expects the track to be a Good 4 when racing commences on Saturday with the possibility of an upgrade during the meeting.

What is difficult for Synan to gauge is how much rain will fall and whether the winds will return.

“It’s been very windy here, but in saying that we did get a bit of rain here on Sunday, four mils, and then another two mils on Monday,” Synan said.

“The track was a Good 4 this morning (Tuesday) for the gallops and it’s a nice day today and the forecast is OK for Wednesday and then hopefully there will be some rain on Friday.

“If the rain doesn’t look like coming on Friday, then we’ll probably have to water on Thursday night, but I probably wouldn’t water Friday night.

“I would expect we will start on a Good 4 with an upgrade to a Good 3.

“It’s in pretty good order on the inside and it will be four weeks since it raced in the true.”

Synan said there was a number of different weather apps he uses in conjunction with talking to the Bureau of Meteorology as to how much rainfall is expected at Moonee Valley for the week.

“A couple say we will get rain, and some say we won’t,” Synan said.

“We’re pretty confident we’ll get a couple of mils, but the way the weather has been in the last couple of weeks it’s been hit and miss, so if we get some, it’s a bonus, and if we don’t, we’ll have to manage it through.”