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By Ray Hickson

Horses and punters alike are going to warm to the new-look Gosford racecourse following the successful unveiling of a multi-million dollar upgrade designed to make the Central Coast track more conducive to competitive racing.

Although the work centred on the portion of the track from the 600m to past the winning post it has achieved the aim of giving Gosford the feel of a bigger track.

That’s the response Gosford Race Club chief executive Daniel Lacey received after the February 22 debut, and the feedback of jockey Grant Buckley who rode at the meeting and in several trials and jump outs in the lead up.

It’s encouraging for the club with the next meeting the Polytrack Provincial-Midway Championships Qualifier on March 15 and the biggest meeting of the year, featuring The Coast, in May fast approaching.

“It was better than we could have hoped for,’’ Lacey said.

The upgraded Gosford track, with its improved camber on the home turn, passed its first test with flying colours.

“We had a couple of teething issues we had to work through but nothing major.

“On that home turn where they always went only two or three wide they have no problem coming wider on the turn so from that regard it makes the track bigger.

“Even though physically we haven’t made the track bigger it gives them a more raceable area.”

Gosford, being a relatively tight turning track, has long been perceived as something of an on-pacer’s paradise and Lacey said that’s often hurt the club when it comes to field sizes and scratchings, especially from wider barriers.

The upgrade was focused on changing the camber around the home turn, therefore allowing more horses to make runs around the field and hopefully changing that perception.

The old track featured a 3 per cent camber from the inside rail to the middle then stayed flat a couple of metres before reversing the camber out wide. This was changed to a more even 6 per cent camber with a gradual transition into and out of the home turn.

There’s also a 3 per cent camber after the winning post to assist with horses pulling up.

“Unfortunately for us, every time you hear people talk about Gosford, especially in the lead up to The Coast, it’s that it’s a tighter track and you’ve got to be near the front and it’s difficult if you’re out wide,’’ Lacey said.

“That was the perception, right or wrong, but we had to address it.

“The track held together really well, so much so we had jump outs on the Monday after.”

Buckley, who rode the first winner at the February 22 meeting, said he’d ridden on the track about six weeks before race day and there was some kickback.

He said the club made the right move by delaying the track’s return to give the grass a bit more time and when he came back for jump outs closer to the meeting he was amazed by the difference.

Then when it came to the crunch on race day he said he could only regard the track as passing with flying colours – and feels it will only get better with racing.

“They’ve done the camber really well, before you’d get on your bike and come around them and you couldn’t get around the corner as well as you can now,’’ Buckley said.

“It’ll be a lot better for racing. When you start to build at Gosford the camber goes with you now. Horses seem to stay a lot more balanced, it’s a really good camber.

“It gives you more of an option to take a sit. It’s still going to be a speed track because it’s a smaller circumference track but I think horses will benefit a lot from it.

“I won on one of Brad Widdup’s and it was a first starter, I rode the fence and came one off and it helps horses get around that track a lot better.

“Just racing on it will make it condition up more and it’ll help it. It played fair all around, they went slow in some and quick in some and there was no real pattern of racing.”

Grant Buckley wins the first race on the upgraded Gosford track on Sneaky Choice. (Pic: Bradley Photos).

Lacey said he was particularly encouraged by watching the Richard Litt-trained Oryx’s performance in the final race of the first meeting, the gelding was forced to race wide but transitioned into the finish full of running and went down by half a length.

“In that one race it proved everything, it showed you can come running on from the back and be very competitive,’’ he said.

The plan leading into The Coast meeting on May 10 is to have Gosford race regularly but not too close together to aid the growth of the grass.

He said that will allow course manager Steve Scollard to present the best possible surface for the meeting which offers over $2 million in prizemoney.

“We arranged our run into The Coast so it’s every 12 to 14 days we’ve got a race,’’ Lacey said.

“It’s a perfect run in and our grass will carry on growing until around Anzac Day and into The Coast day. So by The Coast we’ll have the full benefit of the growth.”

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