Vulnerable to Nature
Just when we thought the grass track season was about to kick off, that all-powerful lady, Mother Nature said otherwise, with damage to the Mount Harding track rendering it unfit overnight.
It tends to reinforce my thoughts on the topic of what I was going to write about this week, Cup Day. Spare a thought for Addington officials who, after announcing a $50k increase in the stake for the big race, now have to spend the next two months sweating about what form the cursed pandemic (MN is still responsible for that) is going to take.
Obviously, the plans are already well-advanced but who can guarantee what ‘level’ we will be in come the second Tuesday in November. Do they cater for a full (if slightly restricted number) crowd as we were lucky enough to have last year, or will the public be barred entirely.
Then of course there is the awful spectre of a full lockdown coming out of the blue as it did a couple of weeks ago, on the day before what is still the biggest race-day in New Zealand, bar none. That scenario doesn’t bear thinking about.
So, let’s keep everything you can think of crossed that we can be safely back in whatever form Level 1 is going to take by November. Try and get some sleep if that’s possible, guys.
Pete Cook