Once again the track presented at Hastings for a G1 raceday was a biased wet circuit and with the rail out 4m it made for another dubious raceday as so many runners were massively disadvantaged each race. The weather made the track here on Day One a disgrace and deliberately left long grass was a visual eyesore but today it was more manmade bias and spoil. The 14mls put on the track on Tuesday to make it a Dead6 had less than two days to seep in and help properly as the forecast rain came on Thursday and then some more later on Friday. The track went from a supposed Good2 or Good3 to a Slow9 from Tuesday afternoon until Saturday morning and that is inexcusable. The amount put on was the mistake and a massive miscalculation plus it led to the track, still having long grass and looking shabby and damp, being an unfair racing surface to so many runners. Two days of this meeting so far separated by three weeks and awful wet ground each time plus the grass kept long and the track chipping like a lumberjack was going mad on some logs with a chainsaw or axe. Gingernuts, the only male 4yo in the race again like Day One, showed his wet track liking and justified the heavy plunge late to win narrowly but well in this G1 1600m at WFA. He should have won the first day at G1 over 1400m under WFA but for a check on the home turn but this time there was no such interference. The gelding sat tenth and wide but had good cover and was never that far away from the leaders in a far from hard run race. He got sent up deeper near the home turn and into sixth with clear air ahead and second widest in the better lanes before being asked to pick up his rivals and dunk them. Upon reaching second at the 200m he looked the certain winner but only got narrowly into the lead inside 50m to run and had to stave off a brave 8yo in Close that may well have won had he not been closer in on slower manmade lanes. Gingernuts scored by a short neck in an average time indeed of 1:40.15 (Kawi won this last year on a Dead4 track in 1:35.52 and had won the first day over 1400m too on a Slow7 in 1:24.87 but this year on a Slow9 they ran 1:27.89) so the track has been poorly presented twice now. It was the sixth win from just eleven starts by Gingernuts and his third G1 with wins now coming at 1600m, 2000m and 2400m. Two of his G1 wins have come on wet ground and he has a G2 win on slow footing as well, so although he can handle better footing he does relish cutting out tracks for sure. Close Up was a very game second and the 8yo after winning at his first ever try at G1 under WFA here at 1400m the first day should have probably won this as he had to improve on clearly slower lanes. His fight to the line was admirable as he made a rival he was twice the age of, have to dig deep to deliver. Close Up does make the actual G1 depth at WFA seem rather dubious as to only ever take it on as an 8yo and then win and be second narrowly beaten says more about the opposition surely. Kawi ran a game third after sitting seventh wide but with cover and in the right lanes moving up fifth turning for home deeper out. His usual lift was not quite there when third at the 200m between the first two home and he copped some tightening late but it made no difference as third was his lot beaten a length and a quarter. Underthemoonlight, a known wet tracker, ran on strongly late for fourth beaten three lengths after getting well back due to a tardy start. Volkstok’n’barrell was a luckless fifth and found the line well too after getting shuffled back on the inner and having to come through closer in on slower lanes. Mime was sound and Miss Wilson brave after being wide working for a large part of the race. Stolen Dance is an improver clearly after coming closer in the run home than any other runner and she was fresh up for a new yard too. Thee Auld Floozie was okay at the line and so was Sofia Rosa. Volpe Veloce was poor and a major flop after racing in or near the lead throughout and she either did not do the ground or is a sprinter only now a 4yo mare and may not be G1 standard. Until she gets on a better footing only then can a definitive assessment be made but her reputation is looking in jeopardy and maybe the 4yo mare maybe just a sprinter and under handicap conditions or against her own sex only. Coldplay has not come up this preparation yet but needs better footing clearly while Aide Memoire was a big flop after running a close second here at G1 under WFA over 1400m the first day. El Pescado got asked too much of in the running and stopped unsurprisingly and even more staggering is he has never led up in his career but did today at G1 under WFA so the speed map used was a complete howler. The form has been as iffy as the track presented on both days so far and completely untrustable as so many have not copped the footing, so how they are actually going at the moment is a complete unknown. Gingernuts has all of these covered it seems for the last day at G1 over 2040m under WFA so only something new to the meeting appearing could trouble him and that should be his stablemate Chance For Dance. Volkstok’n’barrell otherwise is the quinella and trifecta as he will on better footing race closer and can lift more the run home. Gingernuts being a 4yo male has it still all ahead but the runner up today was an 8yo and third finisher Kawi is a 7yo and he got beaten three times out of the money in Perth last year so is a G1 horse only at home. The fourth finisher was beaten three lengths and is a wet tracker sprinter-miler, so the WFA depth is non-existent again in New Zealand and where are the 4yo males coming through bar the winner?