While South Island trainers are on cancellation watch, they can rest knowing their Riccarton racing targets should go ahead.
Tomorrow's Timaru meeting hangs in the balance on the back of more forecast rain hitting the South Canterbury region today, following the 84mm it was hit with over the weekend.
The meeting could be the second race day in a row to be cancelled in the South after Oamaru's meeting, postponed from Sunday until yesterday, was eventually called off.
Canterbury Jockey Club officials are confident their track is in good enough order that their Grand National carnival scheduled for August 5, 9 and 12 is in little danger.
It would take an extraordinary weather event - worse than it faced last weekend - to jeopardise the meetings, racing manager Jim Langan said.
As well as expecting to get its share of rain the Metservice is forecasting for today, Christchurch is also set to be hit with more next week.
The Riccarton track has already been hit by last weekend's rain, although it had dried and recovered well enough to be a safe racing surface by Monday should there have been a meeting scheduled there this week.
''We did cop quite a bit of rain; we copped about 90ml from that last lot.
''If we had had to, we would have raced on Monday.
That drying was made easier due to recent renovations made to the track.
''We have done quite a lot of drainage work at the course over the last two years with sand slitting and extra drainage.''
Despite that, the Riccarton track has been rated a heavy 11 surface for the majority of its meetings from the beginning of autumn, but that was the result of an extra wet season, Langan said.
On the plus side, the track has a good amount of fresh ground that has not been used for recent meetings and, although it would be rated in heavy condition, it was in good order, he said.
North Island and southern South Island trainers are flocking to book their horses in to the course's accommodation facilities before the Grand National Carnival.
''We have got 104 barns, boxes and shelter yards available and they're chokker. We have just about allocated them all.''
Kevin Myers, Paul Nelson, Mark Oulaghan, John Wheeler and Graeme and Debbie Rogerson had all confirmed they would be lining up horses at the carnival, Langan said.
Langan has contacted the connections of the top 20 in order of entry for the Winter Cup.
The TAB bookmakers' $5 favourite for the feature, Our Bandit, will race in rating 85 company at Otaki on Saturday.
He will make the trip south for the race, providing he comes through that race well, Langan said.
