Qld trainers worried by Ipswich change

Queensland trainers are worried about over-use of Doomben after an Ipswich meeting was moved to the city track.

Wednesday will be the fifth time in recent months the troubled Ipswich track has lost a meeting after little or no rain.

Ipswich has problems with its irrigation and drainage system but Racing Queensland says it does not have the money to repair it until early next year.

The secretary of the Queensland branch of the Australian Trainers Association, Cameron Partington, said the decision to move Ipswich should have been made last Friday when another meeting was lost.

“They were never going to be able to race Wednesday. At least they called it off early this time and the move to Doomben is good,” he said.

“But we don’t want to kill the golden goose with Doomben. The whole idea was to give Doomben a rest for the winter carnival.”

“Now it is back in action again. Wednesday’s meeting should have gone to Toowoomba.”

In a media release on Tuesday afternoon, RQ said following a track inspection by RQ officials, stewards and Ipswich representatives, the meeting had been transferred to Doomben.

A spokesman said the transfer was necessary because a small section of the track remained unsuitable for racing.

He said as a result it was necessary to amend the distances of some of the races on the program.

They are:

Race 3 – Class 4 Handicap – was 1666m, is now 1640m

Race 4 – Maiden Handicap – was 1666m, is now 1640m

Race 5 – Maiden Plate (SW) – was 1100m, is now 1110m

Race 6 – Benchmark 65 Handicap – was 1000m, is now 1050m

The remainder of the program remains as previously published.

Doomben was rated a Good 4 on Tuesday afternoon.