Saturday's meeting at Randwick Racecourse, which was to feature the return of Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) in the G2 Apollo S., has been postponed to Monday due to extreme heat in Sydney.
Racing NSW Chief Executive Peter V'landys said, “We have been in communication with the Bureau of Meteorology, who were extremely helpful with providing the most up-to-date and accurate predictions as to the likely conditions [on Saturday]. Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club believed that animal welfare and the welfare of the participants should be the only consideration when making this decision.”
ATC Chief Executive Darren Pearce added, “The ATC want to ensure that horses' preparation for the Autumn Carnival are not affected and, accordingly, the meeting will be programmed for Monday, Feb. 13.”
Winx, recently named the world's highest-rated mare and turf horse of 2016 by the IFHA, is set to face off against a top-class field in the Apollo, including G1 Turnbull S. winner Hartnell (GB) (Authorized {Ire}). The card also features the G2 Light Fingers S. for 3-year-old fillies, three additional Group 3s and the A$250,000 Inglis Classic for 2-year-old graduates of the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
Also postponed to Monday is Grafton's Country Championships meeting originally schedule for Sunday, and Kembla Grange, also scheduled for Saturday, has been abandoned.
Inglis has altered the selling schedule for this weekend's Inglis Classic Yearling Sale to accommodate the change of the Randwick meeting. Each of the three sessions Saturday through Monday will start an hour earlier than originally scheduled. Saturday evening's opening session will begin at 5 p.m., while Sunday and Monday will start at 9 a.m. An extra 30 lots will be sold Saturday evening and an additional 60 lots will be sold on Sunday to shorten Monday's session and allow participants to attend both the final day of the sale and the majority of the race meeting.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
