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HONG KONG'S vast army of punters were done a grave disservice at Happy Valley last week by the deplorable state of the equitrack surface.

 As we face up to another meeting on the synthetic track tomorrow night, there will be understandable concern about a repetition.

 Last week we had horses ploughing through the surface and flinching from the amount of kickback. Despite the fact that front-runners seemed to be going well, times were all askew - leaving form followers dazed and clutching worthless betting tickets.

 Equitrack has never been a totally satisfactory surface but its degeneration to the sandy mess of last week marked its nadir here.

 Official sources say that lack of oil contributed largely to the state of the track and that this is being immediately remedied. It is also known that the Stipendiary Stewards expressed their concern at the state of the surface.

 The point at issue is simple - the punting public deserves to have horses racing on a consistent surface throughout a season otherwise the whole game could become little more than an adjunct of the Mark Six lottery.

 It is scarcely overstating the case to say that the entire multi-billion dollar industry here comes down to horses racing on proper racetracks. There's no show without a stage and how such an obviously vital aspect of the sport can be seemingly neglected beggars belief.

 And the Jockey Club should give very serious thought to the introduction of pacifiers.

 These have been adequately tested in Australia and are in everyday use in Macau where they have proved very successful on sand.

 They would certainly have assisted a number of runners last week who were subjected to severe kickback. Pacifiers deflect this from the eyes and have helped make any number of gallopers much more tractable - and betting propositions on sand.

 The only time that pacifiers might be counter-productive is during a race meeting held in pouring rain. Dirt could then be kicked back in sodden clods and stick to the pacifiers, impairing vision.

 That is the only possible downside and trainers would be very much aware of this possibility and act accordingly.

 I can see no reason why pacifiers should not be permitted. They could be tested in a series of equitrack trials at Sha Tin and then introduced on race nights.

 But, of more importance, there cannot be any repetition of last week's equitrack surface. That strikes at the core of racing.

     HONG Kong's lineup for next month's International Races will be officially completed today with River Verdon the flag-carrier for the Cup.

 His Stewards' Cup win on Sunday was memorable to the extent that he remains in contention for the Triple Crown, having failed at the first hurdle for the past two years.

 But the champion was pressed to the line by Happy Guy and probably the horse that came out of it best of all was Our Pal. He is being aimed for next February's Derby and finishing a length off River Verdon at levels suggests he will be the one to beat in the Classic.

 This is particularly so as we saw the hopes of Flirting Dancer evaporate completely and those of Gay Pegasus II take a very severe knock.

 River Verdon is a rising seven-year-old and, despite his relatively light racing history, is now getting to the veteran stage.

 Next month's International Cup is probably his swansong on the world stage but he will be in great shape for the big occasion. And the onus on December 12 is more likely to fall on champion jockey Basil Marcus than trainer David Hill.

 River Verdon will need a perfect ride against some respectable opposition.

 He no longer has anything left in reserve if things do not quite pan out as expected. It will be a case of not even the slightest of mistakes in the white-hot atmosphere of Sha Tin on International Cup day.

 Marcus, on international duty this week in Tokyo, knows that full well. And he is unlikely to let anyone down.



HK's good name lands in the dirt