Fairyhouse washed out

This afternoon’s big meeting at Fairyhouse has been cancelled due to a waterlogged track.

Course officials issued the surprise news after a night of intense downpours at the County Meath venue.

Cliff Noone, Irish Turf Club press officer, said: “This is a real bombshell.

“The course endured 20 millimetres of rain overnight – 10mm of which has fallen since 7am.

“The Fairyhouse team inspected the track this morning and found it simply unraceable.

“Plans are now likely to be put in place with Horse Racing Ireland to rearrange the meeting.”

The National Hunt fixture was due to herald the return of potential superstar Dunguib in the Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle.

The Royal Bond was one of three Grade One heats on the seven-race card.

Fairyhouse will now stage Sunday’s meeting this Wednesday, when admission will be free for all racegoers.

Fresh declarations will be made on Tuesday, with Wednesday’s original fixture at Fairyhouse transferred to Thursday, December 10.

General manager Caroline Gray told At The Races: “We’ve moved the fixture to Wednesday so hopefully people will come out and support it.

“The forecast is a little bit better so hopefully we’ll get the go-ahead.

“We were supposed to be racing on Wednesday, so we’ve moved that card to the following Thursday.”