SHOCK AS THE GOLD COAST MEETING IS TRANSFERRED

By Graham Potter | Friday, January 3, 2025

And the walls came crashing down!

The forced late, late call to transfer the first big Saturday meeting of the New Year in Queensland from the Gold Coast to the Sunshine Coast has left local racing participants in complete disarray.

The official media release from Racing Queensland relating to the shock announcement reads: ‘Earlier today (Friday), Gold Coast Turf Club and Queensland Racing Integrity Commission officials raised concerns with a section of the course proper near the 500m mark which had become discoloured.

‘As a result, a series of course proper gallops involving senior jockeys was conducted at the Gold Coast this afternoon, with concerns raised that the meeting would be unable to proceed.’

The decision was then taken to transfer the meeting to the Sunshine Cost.

While it appears that vandalism is very much in play with regard to the affected area of the track, the actual root cause of the problem has yet to be firmly established.

While that remains a matter under investigation … samples of the discoloured surface have been collected and sent for testing … all of the logistics of shifting a race meeting and re-organising the movement of horses for the meeting, just to mention two points, will have to dealt with within less than twenty-four hours if the meeting is still to go head on schedule, albeit at a different venue.

It will require a huge effort by all concerned.

The meeting features a host of very important feature races which, not least, includes the Aquis Gold Nugget and the Aquis Gold Pearl, in which two-year olds have a last throw of the dice to cement their entry into the $3 million Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic.

Then there is $500 000 The Wave and, amongst other races, there is the inaugural running of the $3 million Slot Race, the Magic Millions Sunlight … so there is no lack of incentive for owners and trainers to do whatever is necessary overnight to keep their big race aspirations alive.

While everybody hopes for the best on Saturday, it is a most unfortunate start to the New Year for racing in Queensland, particularly as Saturday’s meeting, as good a racecard as it is, is also only the entrée to next week’s feature Magic Millions Race-day which, for the moment at least, must also have a cloud hanging over it.

A semi-assurance has been given in a Racing Queensland Media Release which, in part, states, ‘The affected grass is expected to be replaced ahead of next week’s The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions Raceday allowing the meeting to proceed as scheduled.’

That would be a great outcome, but it is likely to be a very nervous seven days until then.