Over the next few weeks the StrathAyr track at Kranji will be completely replaced and trialling of a new synthetic track will continue with both a Polytrack and Tapeta Track laid down for use by all Singapore trainers.
Michael Dickinson on hand to see the laying of the Tapeta
Mid-2006 the Singapore Turf Club started remedial work on the turf track and now the time has come to replace the track in its entirety. The turf needs to be replaced due to an increase in the surface thatch layer which contributed to a higher than desired amount of divoting normally expected and an infiltration reduction in the StrathAyr Reflex mesh element profile.
The turf will be replaced using a method designed by StrathAyr Pty Ltd especially for the Kranji StrathAyr surface, called the MegAyr Turf Replacement System. The replacement turf has been grown within the Club’s own nursery (below) over the previous 12 months.
The synthetic tracks are now being tested with two 1000m tracks laid on Track 7, one Tapeta Track and one Polytrack, running alongside each other.
Michael Dickinson and the Club's Assistant Track Manager Philip Thomas
The Tapeta Track is the dream child of British-born Michael Dickinson, a former champion jockey and champion steeplechase trainer who dominated the English training ranks for three years. He went to the USA with the dream of building a Ballydoyle-style training facility, where emphasis is placed on catering to the equine.
His dream was realised in the spring of 1998, when the 200-acre Tapeta Farm was opened for training. Tapeta Farm is a state-of-the-art facility combining the latest, most innovative technology in equine care with the fundamental 'good sense' of horse husbandry.
Both the Tapeta and the Polytrack will be used extensively for trackwork over several months in order to gauge which would be the best for the new synthetic race track anticipated to be in by July 2008.
Dickinson flew into Singapore at the start of August in order to oversee the laying of the trial Tapeta Track and will be back on a regular basis to ensure the maintenance procedures are in order and to answer any question the trainers may have.
At the end of the trial tracks, the Polytrack on the left with the right awaiting the Tapeta.
“The way this track has been laid next to the trial Polytrack will allow the trainers to use interval training methods,” said Dickinson back in August.
“I’ll be back every month and at any time the Club needs to be assist with the maintenance of the track and the questions that the trainers need answering.
“Looking at the way the two tracks have been laid, the horses could work off along the Tapeta and then at the end switch back to the Polytrack, and then when they are back to the start again, a quick turnaround and they can do some solid work on the 1000m on the Tapeta.
“I know that once they start working on this Tapeta track they will straight away notice the difference in their horses.
“This type of track has been in use for nine years now and the Polytrack 12 years. These are not ‘guinea pig’ tracks, they have been tried and tested in other countries and has stood the test of time.
“It’s just a matter of the trainers and the Club working out which one will be the most suitable for Singapore.”
“I have Tapeta track in Maryland (USA) where the temperature can reach 110 deg C and we have more than enough rain there. We wouldn’t use anything else, it is such a good track for the horses.”
Out with the old track as work commences on the StrathAyr
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