'Floodlights still need fine-tuning'

THE new floodlights at Turffontein were tested under racing conditions for the first time on Monday when six horses took part in a mock race down the straight.

THE new floodlights at Turffontein were tested under racing conditions for the first time on Monday when six horses took part in a mock race down the straight.

The trial went off smoothly, though there's much fine-tuning to be carried out before the lights are raced under for the first time at the Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile meeting on Saturday.

Piere Strydom was one of the six jockeys who kindly gave of their time to ride in the trial and his views were similar to those of others.

"The lights will be great but we could not race under them as they are at the moment. They need to be adjusted to eliminate the shadows being cast across the track in some areas and which my horse kept hesitating from.

"The pull-up area also needs to be brighter."

Another issue raised was the shadows cast by the distance markers on the outside of the straight.