Glorious sunshine lit up Saturday’s Victoria Derby meeting but those conditions will change after a hot day on Sunday.
O’Keeffe said significant rain could send the Flemington track into the heavy range early on Tuesday morning but conditions on the day would determine whether the Melbourne Cup course improved.
• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet’s team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
“There’s about 31mm on Monday and about 3mm during the races on Cup Day,” O’Keeffe said.
“Crystal ball, if we get 31mm, that will put it into a Heavy 8 on the morning of Cup Day.
“If it doesn’t rain during the day, it will improve, but if it does, it won’t change.”
O’Keeffe said the forecast would prompt him to adjust the track’s preparation to accommodate the rainfall.
“We’ll move Monday’s jobs to Sunday because Monday will be a wipe-out.
“We will move the running rail to two metres for Cup Day and we’ll mow the track
“We’ll mow the track, put a little bit of fertiliser and give it a light rake.
“Monday, we’ll stay off it because there’s about 30 or 35mm forecast on Monday.”
Melbourne Cup favourite Half Yours has had one start on a heavy track for an easy win in Benchmark 78 grade in Sydney in May.
Topweight Al Riffa has not raced on heavy ground but has won twice on soft tracks in Ireland.
Read related topics:Weather
