Punchestown has it Covered in Dynamic Bid to Beat the Elements- Four miles of racecourse covered to beat forecast
- Dynamic innovation is a first for Irish racing
- Irish companies Bord Na Mona and Shabra join forces to protect Boylesports.com Fixture
In an unprecedented move Punchestown racecourse today announced that they are currently covering four miles of the track in a bold bid to beat the forecasted freezing temperatures ahead of Sunday’s brilliant Boylesports.com Chase day at the Kildare venue.
The forecast for the Punchestown area is -4.5 degrees for Friday night and at least –3 degrees on Saturday night which is sufficient to cause frozen ground and subsequently an abandonment of the Sunday’s meeting. The covers will measure 70,000 metres squared and are currently being laid on the entire hurdle and chase.
Given the harsh winters Ireland has recently endured, track covering has become somewhat of a necessity and Punchestown have undertaken research in this area. The method adopted for this weekend will involve the use of a strong gauge pure polythene product developed and supplied in conjunction with Bord Na Mona and Rita Shah racehorse owner and M.D. of Shabra. The product is currently used extensively throughout the country by Bord Na Mona.
On hearing about the innovation Big Zeb’s trainer Colm Murphy said “This is brilliant news from Punchestown. Its great that they have taken the lead in planning to beat the elements. Racing has suffered this season and Punchestown must be applauded in the efforts they are taking to ensure this meeting goes ahead. Big Zeb is in great form and we are looking forward to running in the Boylesports.com Chase on Sunday”.
Dick O’Sullivan, General Manager Punchestown Racecourse commented “The expense of this project is one thing to consider but the prospect of losing a fantastic card on Sunday having lost the John Durkan Memorial Chase day last December is a blow we are not willing to take. So while we have been researching, the current circumstances have demanded that we have had to make the move quicker than anticipated. This is a new project and we have no guarantee that it will work but we are going to give it our best shot. We have no doubt that we will be refining the plan as we can only learn from this experience. We would like to thank both Bord Na Mona and Rita Shah for their assistance in making this happen.
Richie Galway, Racing and Operations Manager at Punchestown stated “The ground is currently soft and the viability of maintaining that is now down to manpower. The clerk of the course Joe Collins has been onsite this morning and together we shall continue to monitor the situation. Horse Racing Ireland have been consulted and are very interested in the outcome and the prospects will bring with it.”
