Festival to run until next Wednesday

THE TRALEE August festival now looks like finishing at least four days later than planned as racing’s programmers struggle to cope with the impact of the current bad weather. This afternoon’s planned card at Tralee was cancelled yesterday evening along with tomorrow’s scheduled fixture. There will be an inspection at 3pm tomorrow to see if racing can finally begin at Ballybeggan Park on Saturday.

That had been billed as the final day of the final Tralee festival ever but Horse Racing Ireland have juggled the schedule so that racing is now set for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

Cork and Ballinrobe are due to race on Sunday.

“It’s just one or two places on the course and if we can get the water off it there’s every chance it will dry out enough,” the Tralee chairman, Paddy Barry, said yesterday.

Tomorrow’s racing at Kilbeggan has also been affected with the chase contests abandoned due to waterlogging on the chase track. A race will be divided to make a six-race card.

However, the Curragh authorities report no problems ahead of Saturday’s fixture at headquarters but the going is still likely to be soft for the featured Group Two Futurity Stakes (7f).

“We could have raced today and the forecast is pretty good for Thursday and Friday. You don’t like to be confident about such things but if the forecast is right we should be fine,” said the Curragh manager Paul Hensey.

“If I had to make a prediction I would say we will have soft ground.”

The unbeaten Rip Van Winkle, currently second favourite for next year’s 2,000 Guineas, is among the Futurity entries and there could also be some Classic clues on offer in France on Sunday where David Wachman’s Anglesey Stakes winner, Bushranger, is among the 23 horses still left in the Group One Darley Prix Morny.

Myboycharlie won the Morny for Tommy Stack last year and other Irish interest at Deauville this Sunday could centre on Charlie Swan’s Jalmira. The Swan runner is among the entries left in the Group Two Prix Jean Romanet (1m 2f). Henry Cecil’s Passage Of Time is among the possible opposition.