I’m keen to check out the new subterranean day stalls and parade ring. It’s all very swish, Hollywood even, with four ginormous date palms in the middle of the ring. The stalls themselves are most excellent with an LED screen showing the name of the horse. And a lift to the lower ground level means I can avoid the stairs. I’m only interested in the three fancied horses, Brightside, Cascadian and Pride of Jenni. Mr Brightside looks as good as usual, Jenni is almost asleep which is most unusual and Cascadian looks dominant. And of course they filled the first three placings with the cream rising to the top. I took the ridiculous place odds of $1.32 on Brightside.

I thought the new mounting yard was a disaster. A long way from the winning post, and both members and public had no access to the mounting yard rail at ground level. There was a huge expanse of concrete reserved for owners and which I am told can accommodate 900 owners! And the yard itself is on a slope which is a worry when assessing the gait of horses going down hill. Not happy Jan.

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