The Jockey Club has returned serve over Tony Cruz's observations on current firmness of tracks, with figures to suggest that things are actually better on the injury front than the norm.
Cruz has had first-hand experience lately of the hard tracks, with a number of his horses suffering injury issues, the most prominent star galloper California Memory, whose future is in doubt after he finished the Jockey Club Cup with an injury.
Cruz called for a club investigation of whether the tracks require remedial attention, but the Jockey Club has responded with statistics that say: Crisis? What crisis?
Horses with injuries after racing are issued with an Official Veterinary Examination (OVE) ticket, so the club has looked at issuance of OVEs for lameness, tendon and ligament injuries over the past five years. The current season's level is the second lowest in that time and down from 2.4 per cent to 1.7 per cent of runners for this period last season. The percentage of non-racing injuries - ie, injuries suffered in training - is down by 22 per cent on last season.
Of course, statistics don't help if it's your horse that's sore.
