Ayr to check again

Officials at Ayr are hoping for an unexpected vast improvement in the weather for them to have any chance of giving Saturday’s meeting the green light.

Following an inspection at lunchtime, they have decided to have another look at the track at midday on Thursday, though the course is still partially frozen and the forecast is poor.

“We had a look today and prospects for racing still appear very, very slim, but we feel we can’t put it off just yet as we’re so far out,” said clerk of the course Hazel Peplinski.

“There has been a slight improvement today but the forecast still needs to be badly wrong for us to be raceable.

“It’s such a big meeting for us with huge advance sales and it would be silly to put it off too early, so we are going to give it one last kick of the ball. There is a very slim chance.”