IT was one of the quietest sessions of the season at rain-lashed Sha Tin yesterday as most trainers waited for Thursday's rescheduled barrier trials down the straight 1,000-metre chute.
Indeed, the grass track itself was one of the features of yesterday's gallops.
It positively gleamed green through the filthy early-morning weather, certainly appearing that much more verdant than on Saturday.
However, closer inspection revealed that this was no more than a sleight of hand and the result of a generous sprinkling of grass clippings on the more threadbare parts of the track.
And therein lies another tale.
If the recent rains hit prior to an all-weather meeting, will the all-weather meeting have to be transferred to the grass? And can the grass track stand the amount of racing it is going to have to take before the end of the season, anyway? I do not share, at all, the highly critical views of the sandmesh surface expressed in some quarters, believing the focus should be on the meetings it saves from abandonment. But it would be impossible not to deny that this season the sandmesh surface at Sha Tin has not been up to the standard of previous campaigns.