The track was an awful slow and the inside was gone after three races but perhaps actually before that as two winning leaders got away with cheap leads to mask the obvious. Sitting wide or swooping around across the top deep was the fastest section of the track and the times were nine to a dozen lengths below standard at a range of distances. After race three no leader won on this tight track and that only happens when the footing is slow or heavy and helping those ridden back and in wider lanes. Irish Flame easily won this G3 1200m juvenile event coming from last to sweep around across the top and swim clear the run home. He had finished fourth at debut in a field of seven and was beaten four lengths. Today he scored by a length and a half in 1:13.55 and reveled in the wet footing like he is a swimmer that should enjoy winter tracks. The winner of his first start ran in this today and to make a mockery of the different footing types in New Zealand she ended up almost eleven lengths behind him in this so somehow lost fifteen lengths in one start. Icebomb settled down in the rear duo with the eventual winner and ran on for second after also swooping around wider across the top in the clearly superior lanes. She is getting better with racing and more tractable it seems. Aquamosa ran on from the rear trio to make it a trifecta at the line for those that sat back and then swam though the wet ground better than the opposition. She grabbed third right on the line and looks a swimmer on the improve. Sophie’s Choice was the first runner home that raced close and she ended up trailing the leaders before getting off and into third at the 200m. The filly lost the Listed blacktype third the last stride. Scott Base ran on late on from rear trio across the top for fifth and is looking for further already plus wet ground does not look a concern based on today. Lady Rossa and Nucleonic, both easy last start winners, stopped badly in the footing and never copped the track conditions so can be forgiven. Caesour’s Dream sat second the outer and stopped badly too not liking the ground although she did handle wet footing on debut at Wanganui but that track has a volcanic loam and drains naturally therefore differently to New Plymouth. Overall this result is a wet track outcome and only relevant if any feature juvenile events are contest for the rest of this season on bogs or tricky slow and heavy footing. Otherwise it is irrelevant and has no genuine bearing on the two G1 juvenile events to come if they are held on decent footing.