High winds have called an end to the Geelong Cup meeting with the remaining races to be conducted on Thursday.
Racing was halted on Wednesday after three races, initially with an indefinite delay, before the meeting was postponed just after 3pm.
Racing Victoria, in consultation with the Geelong Racing, Sky Channel and Racing.com, have decided to run the remaining six races on Thursday.
This includes the Geelong Cup (2400m) which offers the winner a ballot exemption into the Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 4 and the Geelong Classic (2200m), a lead up for three-year-olds heading to the Victoria Derby (2500m) on November 1.
RV’s Head Of Racing, Paul Bloodworth said the race times of the remaining six races on Wednesday would be run at those times on Thursday.
“The weather forecast is much better with only light winds, no rain about and potentially the track might improve a little bit from today as well,” Bloodworth told racing.com.
“The first race will be at 2.25pm and the last race at 5.30pm, basically the same order as the races we had left from today.
“There will be some minor time changes for the Mornington meeting on Thursday and there will be some jockey changes as well.
“There were some jockeys dually engaged that were riding today that are engaged at Mornington tomorrow, so those jockeys will need to make a decision on whether to ride at Geelong or Mornington tomorrow.
“It is really important to get the Geelong Cup run, given its ‘win and you’re in’ status into the Melbourne Cup and the Geelong Classic which is an important Derby lead up.
“Clearly everyone would have preferred the meeting to go ahead today, but we’re making the best of a bad situation and getting it run tomorrow.”
Earlier RV steward Cory Waller said in calling off the meeting wind gusts of up 76km per hour had been recorded at the weather station located in the centre of the Geelong racecourse.
Waller said the high winds would continue through to 5pm and then only ‘may’ die down.
He said there was not a lot of surety after the wait whether the wind would die down and that there was a pretty high chance of it continuing.
The Kings horse, Gilded Water had been a short-priced favourite to win the Geelong Cup before the meeting was postponed.
