Prospects good for Thyestes meeting at Gowran Park
There was no racing in Britain and Ireland yesterday and prospects for today hinge on inspections at Kempton and Wolverhampton.
Snow put paid to Kempton’s card on Sunday and today’s fixture is subject to an inspection at 9am.
Officials at Wolverhampton will take a look at the track at 6.30am as a precaution.
With temperatures to remain below freezing, and further snow forecast, track officials are taking no chances.
Wolverhampton’s clerk of the course Fergus Cameron said: “We had snow Friday and worked the track, which improved significantly on Saturday.
“It just seems sensible, given the situation, to check early morning.”
Wolverhampton are also due to race on Tuesday as are Lingfield, but that card is under threat due to more snow being forecast and the Surrey venue must pass a 2pm inspection today.
Clerk of the course Neil MacKenzie Ross said: “It’s snowing again (on Sunday morning), but we have all day on Monday to prepare for Tuesday.
“Looking at the forecast, though, there is quite a real threat of snow on Monday afternoon.
“That could send us back to square one.”
There has been no jumps action in Britain since Wincanton on Thursday and hopes of a quick resumption are not great.
Tuesday’s jumps meeting at Wetherby was abandoned on Sunday morning.
The track is covered in snow and still frozen, with the two-day forecast offering no cause for optimism.
Clerk of the course Jonjo Sanderson said: “The snow is not going to shift and there is more on its way.
“It was a fairly easy decision and there was no point in prolonging the agony.”
No problems have as yet been reported at Ayr where an additional jumps fixture has been scheduled for Wednesday.
However, Fakenham’s meeting on Thursday already looks in grave doubt as the course is covered in four inches of snow.
After nearly a week of freezing temperatures and with no sign of a let up, there is little chance of the snow shifting in time.
To compound matters more snow is forecast.
Clerk of the course David Hunter said: “We have not had the extreme cold we had early on last week, but the forecast is for more snow and I’m pretty sure we will be able to make the decision one way or the other on Tuesday.
“It might depend on Sunday night whether we do get snow and what the temperatures are.
“If it deteriorates I would bring the inspection forward if need be.”
Prospects for jumps racing in Ireland in the coming week are much better, however.
No problems are reported at either Limerick, where they are scheduled to race on Wednesday or at Gowran Park where the Goffs Thyestes Handicap Chase is Thursday’s feature.
Looking further ahead to next weekend, Cheltenham and Doncaster are pinning their hopes on milder weather coming to the rescue.
It is Festival Trials Day on Saturday at Cheltenham which also features the Victor Chandler Chase rearranged after Ascot was abandoned.
The going is described as soft and is not frozen under the covers. Although it is set to remain cold with occasional snow through to midweek, milder temperatures are due towards the weekend.
Doncaster are down to race on Friday and Saturday with the Sky Bet Chase the feature on day two with Haydock’s Champion Hurdle Trial transferred to the South Yorkshire track. The course is currently frozen with a covering of snow. Temperatures will stay below freezing until Tuesday when a slight improvement is expected.
