Far from having a day off with the delay of the first meeting of The Championships, trainers are now frantically readjusting horses’ work schedules to get them ready for the big races.
Saturday’s meeting featuring four Group One races at Randwick was called off because of continuing rain and safety concerns.
Premier trainer Chris Waller said the transfer of the meeting to Monday had made his day even busier.
“All the horses who were to have raced now have to work this afternoon,” Waller said.
“It has thrown the schedule out.
“The Warwick Farm races on Monday are now on Wednesday so that means further adjustments for those horses.
“That meeting replaces the Warwick Farm Wednesday one so we now have to look for other races for those horses so it’s a very busy day for the stable.”
With all scratchings other than horses taken out earlier in the week, three-year-olds Sweynesse and Kermadec are once again the first two emergencies for the $3 million Doncaster Mile.
Waller, the trainer of Kermadec, scratched veteran Moriarty on Saturday because of the wet while John O’Shea, who prepares Sweynesse, withdrew It’s Somewhat who had a temperature.
If the track remains in the heavy range, Moriarty is likely to come out while O’Shea will reassess It’s Somewhat after he works on Sunday.
“We will see what the track is like and how much it can improve by Monday,” Waller said.
Waller also has Sacred Falls, the winner of the past two Doncasters, and last year’s runner-up Royal Descent in the Doncaster.
Their respective jockeys, Zac Purton and Joao Moreira who have travelled from Hong Kong, will stay to ride them on Monday with no Sha Tin races until Tuesday.
Melbourne jockeys Damien Oliver, Chad Schofield, Craig Williams and Dwayne Dunn, have been released from rides at Monday’s Sandown meeting.
Corey Brown will fly back to Singapore for the Sunday meeting and get on another plane to Sydney to ride Suavito in the Doncaster.
Accommodation has been arranged for horses which travelled to Sydney from far and wide for the final of the inaugural $300,000 Country Championship.
Chief steward Ray Murrihy said the decision to call the meeting off was made in the interests of safety for horses and riders.
