Stratford abandoned

Thursday’s meeting at Stratford has been abandoned due to a waterlogged track.

The course was affected by flooding earlier in the month and despite the best efforts of the racecourse staff, they have not been able to get some areas of the venue ready for racing.

Clerk of the course Stephen Lambert explained: “The route that the doctors, vets and ambulances take entering the back straight is a stagnant bog in numerous places.

“The convoy would be unable to travel at speed and there is a danger of even four-wheel drive vehicles getting stuck near the two-mile start.

“We are bitterly disappointed as the track is ready and our electricians, cleaners, ground staff and office personnel have done a wonderful job in getting the infrastructure back into some sort of working order at top-speed, so that we could race on Thursday – even though we have no power or telephones.

“Our next target is to race on Monday, August 13.”