What remains of the 2015-2016 thoroughbred racing schedule at the higher quality rankings will be taking place at Eagle Farm, with the exception of two Group 3 races at Belmont in Western Australia.
Eagle Farm has a meeting scheduled for Saturday, 4 June that features the Group 1 Queensland Oaks for three-year-old fillies at set weights over 2200 m, the Group 2 P.J. O’Shea Stakes, a weight-for-age race of 2200 m, and the Group 2 QTC Cup, a 1200 m quality handicap.
Eagle Farm has undergone a recent renovation that was undertaken to improve drainage of the turf, so even though the weather for Saturday is calling for rain, track manager Sean Bridges has provided assurances that the turf will hold up, given that the renovation gave the track the ability to drain 150mm per hour.
He thinks the rain will not be as much an issue as is the ability of the new surface to cope with racing in wet conditions.
It will be an interesting lesson in how well the track holds up in Saturday’s meeting and should provide some insights as to what is in store for the following weekend, when the Stradbroke handicap jumps as the biggest day of the season in Queensland racing.
