The damage to the Gold Coast track | TTR
As circuits in the UK and Ireland battle the elements to keep racing going during the cool snap, officials down under have had to deal with a more unusual threat to on-track action after it was announced that the Gold Coast meeting was on the Sunshine Coast was relocated after a 500-metre section of the track was found to be damaged on Friday.
Racing Queensland officials have sent samples for urgent examination to determine the cause and have not ruled out the possibility of wrongdoing by anti-racing activists.
“Racing Queensland and the Gold Coast Turf Club are concerned about what happened. We will continue to investigate, including sending samples to the laboratory to find out what the cause was,” Racing Queensland managing director Jason Scott told racenet.com.au.
The Magic Millions carnival is one of Australia's most anticipated meetings and it is hoped the track will be back up and running in time for next week's meeting.
Two experienced jockeys reportedly galloped around the Gold Coast course proper on Friday afternoon. The Queensland Jockeys Association said they were “not 100 per cent satisfied” with the damaged section.
“The advice from turf experts has been that the Magic Millions meeting can safely continue next Saturday,” Scott said. “They believe the track can be repaired.”
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