four weeks of laying the temperature exceeded 30degrees Celsius on several occasions. It was critical to lay the turf as soon as possible after harvest so we harvested late afternoons and into the night for the morning laying sections and then followed up with morning harvests for the afternoon laying shift. This ensured that the turf was laid in good condition and was never more than 14 hours old. Rolls of turf in the centre of the pallet can get very warm and cook in our summer conditions if not laid promptly. Our harvest timing ensured that very few rolls were damaged and our loss ratio was insignificant. After each day’s laying we installed temporary irrigation using our 50mm aluminium piping transported from the Torquay farm. Over 10 kilometres of piping was laid over the track in three rows. This provided an even irrigation pattern ensuring good establishment of all areas. The piping system was manual and required up to 16 hours of track
monitoring per day due to the hot conditions that prevailed. Root growth was rapid with 2-3cm extension in just five days from laying. After one week the turf had pegged down to the extent that it could not be lifted without force. An application of a high N fertiliser was applied to each section during the maintenance period before handover to the VRC. Flemington’s own Upton irrigator was used following the removal of the temporary irrigation system. The VRC will be developing a nursery using the same growing material contained in the track overlaid with turf from Anco. This will be used for any repair work to ensure a uniform racing surface is maintained. The uniformity of the track soil profile, drainage layer and turf composition will allow one maintenance programme to be used for the entire track. Terry Watson and his team kept a watchful eye on all phases of the construction and, by his own admission,
“probably went overboard with detail”. However, this intense supervision of the project by all parties has resulted in a state of the art track manufactured to exacting standards. Terry believes that no matter what barrier a horse is drawn in, it will win if good enough, as the track going should be even across its width. The decision by the VRC to tear up and build a new track and facilities in time to hold the 2007 Southern hemisphere Spring Carnival was bold to say the least. The planning and project supervision has ensured that the track will be ready in time for the first meeting to be held in September this year. We look forward to welcoming yet another contingent of UK horses, and riders, attempting to take our Cup back to the mother country for only the third time in its 145 year history.
Raising the bar…
Trimax lifted the bar 12 years ago with the original Stealth, setting a new standard in rotary wing mowers. Trimax are raising it again with the release of Stealth Series 2.
In keeping with the company’s policy of continuous improvement the new StealthS2 now features full width striping, infinitely variable height adjustment and downward wing float. Not to mention Trimax’s new LazerBladez™
cutting system.
For more information or to arrange a demonstration of just how high that bar is. Contact:
Trimax Mowing Systems UK TEL 01933 652235 or EMAIL
info@trimaxmowers.co.uk
www.trimaxmowers.com professional tractor mounted mowing equipment TMX1089/TP 63
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