On The Rails | Surface too hard? It's that time of year
Club is faced with several issues that have cropped up, such as the nature of the track and why there was no trial for Dragon
Sunday at Sha Tin was well and truly the day when the rubber hit the road as far as the intersection of racecourse management and its impact on racing.
First there was the issue of trainer Tony Millard not having been able to barrier trial Ambitious Dragon in the lead up to the Sha Tin Trophy, and then there was the track surface itself.
In fairness, Millard said after Ambitious Dragon's win that he had "been able to do everything we wanted to with the horse" and was not making a hue and cry about the matter.
Ambitious Dragon, as a 120-plus rated horse, had the option of a Tuesday grass gallop on the course proper, an option put to good use 12 days prior to Sunday's race.
A case of all's well that ends well, but perhaps it would be something difficult for the average fan to understand - that the best horse in town was not allowed a turf trial to prepare him for a Group Two feature.
Notwithstanding that there were quite a number of trials available earlier this month on turf at Sha Tin and Happy Valley and the all-weather - with most of the first-up Sha Tin Trophy runners using that avenue - the rules do allow for a special turf trial to be convened for an upcoming Group One.
But club policies draw the line there, as allowing the same privilege for a Group Two race might lead to demands for the same before Group Three events. The bottom weights in a Group Three are often 100-raters or less, who would then have a case for a special turf trial. You can see where this is going.