Trainers, jockeys, horses and punters will have to be content with another wet track on BMW Race Day on Saturday with the Rosehill track being rated a heavy 10 for the second week in a row.
Our Ivanhowe, above, will have no trouble handling the heavy track in The BMW at Rosehill. Photo by Steve Hart.
Las Saturday’s Golden Slipper Day’s ten race program was run on a heavy 10 and the rain has continued in the Sydney area during the week, giving the track no chance of drying out.
Australian Turf Club track manager Lindsay Murphy has reported that Rosehill has been deluged with 314mm of rain since February 24 with 118mm falling in the last seven days.
“That takes us to 118mm for the last week, it hasn’t had any chance to really dry out from Slipper Day,” Murphy told racing.com.
“The track is safe, it’s recovered as good as we could hope but there is no hiding that it’s still heavy.”
Punters will be looking for the genuine wet trackers again at Rosehill this week and they don’t have to look far to find the Lee and Anthony Freedman trained Our Ivanhowe who handled last week’s clog mire as though he was born there with his runaway win in the Group 1 $700,000 Ranvet Stakes (2000m).
Our Ivanhowe is marked at $4.20 at Ladbrokes.com.au for the Group 1 $1.5m The BMW (2400m) but first has to pass a veterinary check before being cleared to back up in the weight for age Group 1 this week.
The German import was completely at home in the heavy conditions but did pull up a bit scratchy but has responded positively to treatment and co-trainer Lee Freedman is confident he will be fit to take his place in the field.
“He was just a bit ginger trotting up after the race and we just iced his front legs and that’s standard practice with these old horses,” Freedman told The Daily Telegraph.
“My guys said he was as good as gold Sunday morning.”
Our Invanhowe is not the only runner in The BMW with good wet track form with stablemate Exospheric, Chris Waller’s trio of Who Shot Thebarman, Grand Marshal and Libran, Australian Cup winner Humidor, Australian Derby winner Tavago and Caulfield Cup winner Jameka all winning on rain affected surfaces.
The Ciaron Maher trainer Jameka is holding onto favouritism for The BMW at $3.80 ahead Our Ivanhowe at $4.20, last start Australian Cup winner Humidor at $4.40 and Tavago at $4.60.
