Heads - on Final Furlong you said it hadn't made any difference to the horses that mattered (i.e. your winner)!
From today's race card, by Neil McKenzie-Ross, Clerk of the Course:
"You will notice the striking difference in the colour of the Polytrack since we last raced on it last month. This is due to renovation work we have carried out over the last three weeks, which has involved making use of the material that was forming the pad (bottom layer) and bringing it to the top to form the racing surface. The top material now resembles more how it was when the track was first laid, with the thin rubber and fibres that had become eroded over time now evident once again. We have set the going as Standard to Slow to start off with, as we feel the pad will take some time to re-establish itself and from thereafter seeing the actual times and gaining feedback, we will reassess."
Essentially, the racing surface has been top-to-tailed, and it's like brand-new going. Jockeys reported very little difficulty today, possibly a little slower than usual, but nothing too dramatic. The kickback, which had become hard and sharp, is now back to its original state of being low down on the horses and light, so whereas some horses had begun to hang back because of the stinging, now they'll go through it better. In that respect, slower times may be offset to a degree by higher willingness!
