Page 8 - The Game October 2006

8 The Game, October 2006 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
Welcome to PolyWood
By Peter Gross
Short of smashing a bottle of high-priced champagne at the finish line, Woodbine certainly launched their new Polytrack surface in style. On the evening of August 30, there was a ribbon cutting moment and cake and free $2 betting tickets for those lucky enough to be at trackside.
And it was the three year-old gelding Demi Song, owned by the 3 Sons Racing Stable, who galloped impressively into history by winning the first race on the new surface by a widening ten lengths at the distance of a mile and a sixteenth.
“Didn’t I tell you?” laughed winning trainer George Newland, “He tried it out a few times and the way he travelled I knew I had a good shot.”
Jockey Emile Ramsammy is now Woodbine’s version of Neil Armstrong, though, try as I did, I couldn’t get him to say one small step for a jockey, one giant step for horse-kind.
“I’m very happy to be part of history,” Ramsammy said, “Woodbine is always creating new things. It’s very smooth and calm. Very comfortable.”
In the first month of Polytrack racing, it was hard for most of us to figure out what kind of track this was. At first it seemed to penalize the front-runners. In the 6th race on August 30, Questuary carried Ray Sabourin from 9th to victory. The next race saw Brattitude and Julia Brimo get up from the rear of the field for a two-length win. Two days later Wadekar, Judith’s Lake, Cats A Glitter, and Ready to Swing all roared off the pace for exciting wins. Woodbine’s long-
time broadcaster and race analyst Jim Bannon says we’re best to hold off judgement for awhile.
Emile Ramsammy and trainer George Newland (far right) had the first winner on the new track - Demi Song - photo Peter Gross
“We’re obviously in a great period of adjustment right now,” he points out, “We have horses coming off the main track and rested. We have horses coming off turf because they didn’t want to run on the inside track and we have horses that ran on the inside track out of necessity and all that form gets jumbled and changes when it comes to the Polytrack. We need a few more weeks to see horses run on it.”
Veteran rider Constant Montpellier is certainly enthused about the new stuff underfoot.
“I love it personally,” says the upbeat Montpellier, “It seems to have a little more cushion for the horse.”
One of the intended benefits of the Polytrack was the reduction of ‘kickback’ – the amount of dirt that the horses’ hooves sling into the air and into the path of the trailers.
“For us it’s more comfortable,” informs Montpellier, “For horses, obviously, it is too. Horses that don’t like that stuff coming back in their face too hard, it’s easier on them.”
There’s apparently less wear and tear on the jockey’s wardrobe as well. With hardly any splatter coming back at the fearless riders, a spotless demeanor is easier to carry off.
“You can wear your same pants for like six seven races,” jokes Montpellier.
Riding ace Jim McAleney is usually the last guy to float a dark cloud over the party, but he’s not giving the new track a complete thumbs up.
“It’s fallen short of the expectations that we had,” he says seriously, “It’s supposed to be slower which is supposed to be conducive to the safety of the horses, but they’ve been running fast on the track. I find it’s too hard. From what I understood, it should be running slower.”
McAleney appreciates that the Polytrack is probably still a work in progress.
“I think that what happens is that when it rains it tightens the track right up and they’re going to have to be quick to see that and after a rain dig it up and make it more deeper and fluffier,” he says.
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