Ellerslie’s StrathAyr shines through the Auckland rain

After over 100mm of rain fell on Ellerslie racecourse in the lead-up to the Karaka Millions race meeting, it was almost with a sigh of relief that Auckland Thoroughbred Racing’s Craig Baker and his team got through the six-race feature meeting on Saturday.

It was an evening to celebrate New Zealand racing, albeit it was dominated by Australians, with Queensland trainer Liam Birchley winning the Karaka Millions 2YO for the third time with Dream Roca and Cranbourne’s Cindy Alderson securing her first Group 1 victory thanks to iron horse Jigsaw.

Even the Kiwi-trained Well Written, who looks a special talent after registering her fifth straight win in the Karaka Millions 3YO, was bred across the Tasman.

Nevertheless, it was a showcase for Kiwi racing, and particularly its premier track, which in a relatively short-time period has now become arguably the New Zealand industry’s best-performing asset.

Two years ago on the very same raceday, Ellerslie’s newly laid StrathAyr track came under major scrutiny after reports of horses slipping during the feature races.

The 2024 meeting was just the second on the new surface, and what followed was several months of uncertainty, with two other racedays abandoned part way through and others shifted away from New Zealand racing headquarters.

New tracks always take time to truly bed in, but the matting issue which caused horses to slip was significant enough for an SOS to Liam O’Keeffe, the head of racecourse at the Victoria Racing Club.

As The Straight wrote about in November, O’Keeffe has become a “turf whisperer” for hire across the world, and Baker, the executive general manager of racing and operations at Auckland Thoroughbred Racing, was glad the VRC’s man picked up the phone when he rang in April 2024.     

“He came over and helped us hugely with the maintenance program and just worked with me and our track manager and we’ve got to a point now where we haven’t had an issue (since the spring of 2024),” Baker said.

“We’ve had about 30 race meetings now with the new sort of maintenance plan and we haven’t had an issue since.”

One of the key reasons for choosing StrathAyr surface was its ability to handle the weather, in particular rain, of which around 1200mm falls annually in Auckland.

The North Island was hit by a major weather event during the past week. In Auckland, 67 mm of rain fell on Wednesday, bringing the totals well above 150mm for the previous seven days as the track staff at Ellerslie prepared for one of their biggest days of the year.

Even another 11mm on race day didn’t cause any major problems, with the track rating as a soft 5, and most importantly, playing fairly.

“I don’t reckon there wouldn’t be a track in Australasia that probably would be able to achieve that,” Baker said.

“It really highlights the importance of spending money on infrastructure. I mean, stake money is one thing, but if you haven’t got the tracks to provide good footing irrespective of rainfall, which promotes wagering, it’s a key element.”

Track performance is a hot button issue in New Zealand at the moment. Hastings racetrack is undergoing a major refurbishment after much-publicised issue, with a return to racing slated for spring of 2026.

O’Keeffe has been called in to assist at Awapuni, where racing has been on hold for over two years, save for one race run in April, where a horse slipped on what had been a newly refurbished track.

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing stepped in at Awapuni in October, enlisting the help of O’Keeffe who said the track required “aggressive renovation work”, while a wider investigation is underway into the track’s ‘long-term suitability’.

There is no clear timeline for a return to racing there.

Racing on the best tracks is also a key objective for the New Zealand industry’s wagering partner Entain, which would like its investment in the industry to be reflected in infrastructure, with a direct correlation between track quality and wagering engagement.

Entain may have signed a 25-year-deal to operate TAB NZ, but the first five years are crucial, with $900 million in funding for the racing industry in that time.

It is now more than halfway to reaching that point and NZTR is under pressure to ensure that investment delivers true industry sustainability.

Ellerslie, despite its teething problems, has become a beacon of what can be achieved with strong project management and international consultation.

However, the issues elsewhere, also put the spotlight back on Ellerslie, which may be asked to carry an extra load.

Baker said that the track could host up to 25 meetings a year but would probably “max out” at that. Again, he and track manager Jason Fulford are leaning on O’Keeffe for guidance as to the best way to manage that extra workload. 

Disclosure: Bren O’Brien is in New Zealand courtesy of flights and accommodation paid for by Entain Australia and New Zealand. As an independent publication, The Straight gave no undertakings to Entain as to nature of its editorial coverage.