The mowers were already on the Flemington course proper, preparing it for the upcoming racing, just as the horses were returning to the mounting yard following the final event on Cox Plate Day. This work was in anticipation of the impending rainfall.

Flemington racecourse manager Liam O’Keeffe and his dedicated staff worked tirelessly through the night. Their efforts ensured the Flemington track was in optimal condition for Sunday’s deluge, which saw 53mm of rain fall from late Saturday night into the early hours of Monday.

The plan was executed flawlessly, as O’Keeffe reported that the Flemington track was rated on the better side of slow for the ‘Breakfast With The Stars’ event on Tuesday morning.

In addition to hosting its scheduled four meetings during the Melbourne Cup Carnival, Flemington had to accommodate an extra race day due to the transfer of the Cox Plate from Moonee Valley, which was undergoing renovations.

O’Keeffe acknowledged that he and his team were fortunate on Saturday, experiencing only light showers during the day, with the majority of the track preparation completed before the significant rain arrived.

“During the meeting we had 2mm of rainfall which came on top of 3mm before the meeting had started,” O’Keeffe stated. “Given we irrigated, we were probably on the softer side of a (good) 4 for the whole day.”

He continued, “Immediately after the meeting we mowed the track and then carried out some light repairs knowing there was heavy rainfall coming on Sunday, and Sunday, we stayed completely off the track, let mother nature take its course.”

“I rang the mowers around 7.30 (Saturday night) and said ‘you might to step it up a gear’ because the rain is coming, but fortunately the storms broke up and it was a bit of rain, rather than the heavy rain until Sunday. The rain soaked in really well.”

O’Keeffe expressed his pleasant surprise at how well the track had recovered from Saturday’s nine-race Cox Plate program.

He detailed that the track was mowed to four inches on Saturday night, would be mowed to four inches again on Tuesday with fertiliser applied, and a further mow would take place on Friday to approximately four-and-a-half inches.

“It leaves that little bit of length there and slows the drying down in case we get a warm day,” O’Keeffe explained. “We may have to irrigate again on Thursday just to keep it ticking over to Saturday. There’s a couple of showers forecast for Saturday, but we’re still five days out and that can jump around a little bit.”

O’Keeffe confirmed that the rail would remain in the true position for Saturday’s Victoria Day Derby program.

If you’re looking to get involved, check out the latest Australian betting sites for competitive racing odds.