Racing officials have postponed the Group One meeting at Rosehill due to the state of the track and a forecast for persistent rain.
Chief steward Steve Railton said while it was likely the surface would hold up for a race or two, the prediction of a further 50mm of rain throughout Saturday left them with little choice but to pull the plug.
“The rain on the day is the worst thing,” Railton told Sky Racing radio.
“If we were here now, we can race on it. But with the forecast, it seems certain it’s going to keep raining at a steady rate all day, and with that deterioration we’ve seen between six and eight o’clock, I just can’t have any level of comfort that we’d get through more than a race or two and that would be wasting everybody’s time.”
Rosehill recorded 17mm of rain up to 8am (AEDT) on Saturday morning but it was the forecast for almost triple that to fall during the remainder of the day that tipped the scales.
The 10-race card featured two Group 1 events, the Tancred Stakes (2400m) and Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m), along with several important lead ups to the Randwick carnival, including the Doncaster Prelude (1500m).
Officials are still working through contingency plans and are expected to announce a new timeslot for the meeting later on Saturday.
“They’re talking through those things as we speak to make a decision as promptly as they can,” Railton said.
