DOWN ROYAL looks the most vulnerable of Ireland’s three St Stephen’s Day fixtures, with the course manager admitting yesterday he needs “a wee bit of luck” to avoid falling foul of the cold weather.
A covering of snow that fell on Tuesday night/yesterday morning failed to clear, and the track was unraceable.
An inspection will take place tomorrow at 10am.
“It was supposed to get up to four degrees today but it hasn’t,” said manager Mike Todd yesterday. “The weather people are telling us it will start to thaw out on Christmas evening, but we do need temperatures to rise. We need a wee bit of luck. We will look at it on Christmas to get more of a handle on the situation.”
Limerick are also monitoring their situation, but there is more optimism there their four-day festival will go ahead.
“We’re erring on the side of caution by saying we are monitoring. If the forecast is correct, we shouldn’t have any problems,” said manager, Russell Ferris.
No trouble is expected at Leopardstown, with manager Tom Burke confident of good weather over the weekend.
“Temperatures are due to get warmer through Christmas Day, maybe up to six or seven degrees, with a possibility of a little bit of rain,” Burke said. “The 26th and 27th will be decent days, and although it is due to get colder after that, we’re told it will be nothing like what we have now.”
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