RACING NEWS ROUND-UP:OFFICIALS AT Towcester have been the first to put their St Stephen's Day fixture into serious doubt as the cold snap threatens to decimate the festive programme.
Although racing enthusiasts are forced to go without any action for the next three days, a busy day of sport is scheduled for Saturday, with eight British meetings.
However, Towcester have already announced a 9am inspection for this morning to assess the prospects of racing on Saturday. Clerk of the course Robert Bellamy is pessimistic. “We’ll have a look in the morning but the forecast is not encouraging,” said Bellamy. “We had two inches of snow last night and, in all honesty, I don’t think temperatures are going to rise sufficiently so the course is raceable. That’s why we’ve decided to call the early inspection and I think we’re just in the same boat as a few places.”
There looks certain to be more inspections to follow, with Kempton the only one of the seven scheduled British National Hunt meetings currently raceable.
The undoubted highlight of their two-day meeting is the William Hill King George VI Chase, in which Kauto Star will be bidding for a remarkable fourth consecutive success. Clerk of the course Barney Clifford said: “I don’t anticipate any problems and we’re really looking forward to a fantastic two days of racing.”
Prospects are not so encouraging at Huntingdon, with clerk of the course Andrew Morris banking on a warmer front arriving on Christmas Eve. “We’re just going to monitor the situation and the forecast gives us some hope, but you couldn’t say you were confident at this stage.”
Snow is the main problem at Market Rasen, with as much as four inches currently lying on the track. Clerk of the course Nick Patton said: “The situation at the moment is the track is covered with four inches of snow. The glimmer of hope we have is that it is due to get slightly warmer from Christmas Eve into Christmas Day.”
Sedgefield clerk of the course Charlie Moore remains upbeat, despite five inches of snowfall at the Durham circuit. “We are going to need a bit of luck but we remain cautiously optimistic,” said Moore.
The weather is even colder at Wetherby, with temperatures dipping as low as minus eight on Monday night. “We’re still pretty cold at the moment and the track is still covered in snow.” said clerk of the course Jonjo Sanderon.
Wincanton clerk of the course Barry Johnson feels they have a “sporting chance” of racing. “If the forecast is right, we have a pretty good sporting chance. It is due to get warmer from tomorrow afternoon onwards but we’ll just have to see what happens.”
THE PROSPECTSof racing taking place at all three Irish meetings on St Stephen's Day increased yesterday despite the recent cold snap. Leopardstown has escaped the worst of the weather and the ground there is currently yielding to soft.
Turf Club press officer Cliff Noone said: “There are no anticipated problems at Leopardstown, and temperatures are forecast to get up to eight degrees by Saturday when there is also the prospect of some rain. Limerick are also quite happy with the ground currently soft.”
The track at Down Royal was frozen earlier this week but manager Mike Todd is increasingly confident saying: “The course is now raceable and, while it is to remain bitterly cold up to Christmas Day, temperatures are then predicted to rise. If the forecast is correct we should be okay.” He added: “We may call a precautionary inspection for Saturday but we will decide that in the next few days.”
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