Equestrian
“
challenge, although we are helped by being sheltered by the Pennines from the worst of wet weather. The soils are free-draining and, on the flat track itself, quite sandy, although the downside to that is that the going can get quick, very quickly!” He suggests that the key to producing
good ground in a season which has been predictably unpredictable for the past four years alone is to ‘put it back right’ at the end of the preceding autumn. “We now have a new fertiliser programme in place to encourage germination, and we are looking at using fleece to bring new seeds on, although it’s important to avoid
We had a ten day turnaround between the flat and national hunt seasons in 2014. Preparing the course for high profile flat racing in early spring is a challenge
producing soft growth which can easily be damaged by low temperatures,” he explains. “We also aerate as much as possible in the autumn. It is very important, as it not only addresses compaction but also reduces the amount of watering needed.” Roderick points out that there is now an
expectation of ‘good’ being in the going description for flat meetings rather than fast ground, so effective irrigation is essential. He is also clerk of the course at Southwell,
where the busy all-weather programme is complemented by national hunt racing, and where a tow-line irrigation system is used. “This is my preferred method, although it
is labour intensive. However, the scale of the racing surface at Doncaster means we have to use boom irrigators. Whilst outputs are greater and booms can achieve a more consistent application, they are heavy and can cause compaction.” Even with productive irrigators, it is a
significant task and can take two days to water the full course. The team start at 4.00am and can go on to 11.00pm, with Tim Radford taking on the early and late shifts so that the groundsmen are not tied up with one job for long periods. The National Hunt racing programme includes the Sky Bet Chase meeting with its
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