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By Amy Ellingham in Racing on 6th Apr 2011 14:00
A
top-of-the-range Toro Groundsmaster 5900-D mower - with a whopping 99hp engine - is giving the horses a run for their money at York Racecourse.
The 5900-D is Toro's front-running wide-area rotary mower, thanks to its 4.9m/16ft cutting width and mowing rate of up to 8.4 hectares per hour. This made the machine a firm favourite with grounds manager Adrian Kay, who's responsible for the maintenance of the 10-hectare course.
"We chose the Groundsmaster because of its huge cutting width yet light weight," Adrian reveals. "We've got a lot of mowing to do here and we wanted something that would do the job as efficiently as possible. We can't wait to get started with it once the grass-growing season gets underway."
And - with all those horses' hooves hitting the turf race after race, together with spectator footfall - York, like most racecourses, suffers from soil compaction. Hence Adrian has also invested in a new tractor-mounted Toro ProCore SR70-S deep tine aerator, perfect for alleviating subsurface soil compaction for healthier turf.
"We've recently done some construction work to the site, which has caused heavy compaction in concentrated areas - particularly those where the crowds congregate," Adrian adds. "The ProCore is ideal for relieving this, having proved itself in a demo."
Adrian says that Toro's solid reputation also contributed to his purchasing decision. "Toro are the world-leaders in turf machinery," he concludes. "I want to get the job done with as little downtime as possible, and their machines are more reliable than most. I also like the backup service I get from Lely and my dealer, K&M Mowers."
For more information on Toro machinery, contact your local Toro dealer. Alternatively, call distributor Lely UK on 01480 226800 or visit www.toro.com.
Read more articles in Racing, by Amy Ellingham or from April 2011.
