- Unfortunately rain over Easter and intermittently during the week resulted in a Heavy8 track for the 2nd day of the Autumn Racing season.
- The days feature was the Avon City Ford Easter Cup for the open horses over the 1600 metres. TIMES TICKING was the highest rated runner carrying the steadier of 60kg but that did not prevent him scoring game ½ head win over TYLER EIGHT and OUR ECHO. Heavyweight rider Jacob Lowry rode the seven-year-old for Opaki trainer Alby McGregor whose son Dean and grandson Matthew attended the gelding.
- Eleven fillies faced stater Willie Harnett with all eleven being winners. Last start Group 1 placegetter LUELLA CRISTINA was thought by many to be the one to beat but could not real in MISS LALLA who took her record to two wins and a first start second from only there starts. Trained locally by Anna Furlong and Shane Kennedy the three-yea-old was ridden by underrated rider Shankar Muniandy. Wingatui based riders rode the winners of both features.
- Willie Harnett had his fist day of starting at Riccarton Park standing in for an ill Bruce Smaill.
- Robbie Patterson travelled a team of four from his New Plymouth base and when fields were drawn looked as if he could have three if not four winners. But racing is not like that. One was scratched, two ran second and he had to wait until the last race when MARGHERITA VELOCE won in a desperately close finish from the fast-finishing DECISION TIME and the deadheaters WHERE’S WALLY and LA BELLA NERA.
- Terry Mosley rode two winners TREYBON for the Canwest 7 Syndicate and COLOSSAL for one of the souths best owners Peter Lyon. Ross Beckett trained the former with John and Karen Parsons training the latter.
- All the winners were shared around nine trainers.
- The annual Riccarton Park Punters Challenge was back on the Riccarton Turf raceday. This was a tough day with only 3 of the 41 teams maintaining their original $500 stake. CHANKAI won the $4000 cash prize with $2856, investing their $714 on the favourite in the last.
