Final race on grass at Newcastle; turf track now to be replaced

Local lad Brian Ellison was delighted to be in the winner's enclosure as Flat racing took place on grass for the final time at Newcastle.

Plans to convert the track into an all-weather surface have been in the pipeline for some time and, despite considerable opposition to the scheme put forward by Newcastle's owners Arena Racing Company, the British Horseracing Authority gave the venture the go-ahead in June.

Work will soon commence to convert a full circuit of the track to the artificial Tapeta surface, while there will also be floodlights along the straight mile.

After seeing 5/2 favourite Rock On Bollinski land the Gowland & Dawson Handicap, Ellison, born in Newcastle in 1952 and the son of Tyneside shipbuilder, admitted to feeling some regret that the historic turf track will soon be torn up, but is looking forward to seeing the new all-weather venue in action from next year.

He said of the Barry McHugh-ridden winner: "It's a shame that's it for Flat racing on the grass here - you'd think it was big enough to have two tracks - but I do think it will be the best all-weather track in the country when it's finished."

Of his winner, the trainer added: "He got into all sorts of trouble, but I think it actually suits him.

"They went a good gallop, he likes a bit of juice in the ground and everything worked out for him.

"He's a slow horse really, but he keeps galloping."

The historic Northumberland Plate will next year be run on the all-weather for the first time, but National Hunt racing at Gosforth Park, including the Stanjames.com Fighting Fifth Hurdle fixture on November 28, will be unaffected.

Clerk of the course James Armstrong said: "Contractors arrive on site on Monday. There will be an element of setting up and quite a lot of compounds to build and work will start in the next couple of weeks.

"The contractors we're using (Stobart Group) have got equipment and manpower to do these jobs quite quickly. They'll basically be skimming off the surface, down to about 300 millimetres, it will then be consolidated with a lime agent, drains will be put in and the Tapeta that's been mixed locally will be brought on site in late September.

"Once the blacktop is down, they'll start adding the Tapeta on top, so it's a relatively quick process really."

Armstrong is hoping to see horses and trainers trialling the all-weather track early in the new year, giving the team plenty of time to ensure the surface in the best possible condition for the first scheduled meeting of the season on May 17.

"I don't know exactly when we'll do it, but we'll be trialling it and inviting people over to make sure they're happy with the layout and how it all works," Armstrong told At The Races.

"It's going to be a learning curve for us. All our staff are here are used to managing turf, so we're really turning that whole book of knowledge on it's head and having to learn a whole new trade in many respects.

"We need to crack on for the next couple of months to make sure we're level and safe for us to race jumping-wise.

"If everything goes to plan we should race without any problems throughout the jumps season, which is good news for jumping in the north."

McHugh brought proceedings to a close as he recorded a double, with the Fred Watson-trained Destination Aim (8-1) taking the WaterAid Handicap in some style.

Ironically, Watson had told the Racing Post only 24 hours earlier that he thought the replacement of the turf track was "sacrilege".

The first meeting of the jumps campaign at Newcastle is due to take place on Friday, November 13.