Haydock given thumbs-up

This afternoon’s National Hunt meeting at Haydock has defied the cold snap and will go ahead as scheduled.

Clerk of the course Kirkland Tellwright delivered the good news after staging an early-morning precautionary inspection.

Although overnight temperatures dipped to around minus 6C, frost covers were seen to good effect on the entirety of the track.

Tellwright said: “We’ve just scraped through and the meeting goes ahead.

“It got to below six overnight, but the frost covers have done their job, which is obviously very good news.”

The going on the chase course is soft, while the hurdles course is soft, good to soft in places.

Haydock’s six-race card begins at 12.40pm, with the feature race being the Blue Square I-Card Tommy Whittle Handicap Chase.