Cold snaps hit New Year cards

Freezing temperatures have decimated racing’s New Year programme.

Today’s jumps meetings at Exeter and Fakenham have been abandoned following early morning inspections while Cheltenham’s quality card remains in the balance.

An inspection at 10am found the course to be unraceable, but officials at Prestbury Park still remain optimistic and they will look again at 11.30.

Cheltenham spokesman Andy Clifton said: “We are going to have a further inspection at 11.30am.

“We are not currently raceable and the frost covers are coming off, but it’s moving in the right direction and giving us plenty of optimism.”

Frost put paid to any hopes of racing at Exeter and Fakenham.

Exeter clerk of the course Barry Johnson inspected the track at 8am and found it to be unraceable with little chance of adequate improvement before racing.

He said: “We have abandoned. It got down to minus four last night, it’s still under freezing now and the sun has not come up.

“The forecast is for plus two today but it wouldn’t be enough for us to race.”

It was a similar story at Fakenham, where clerk of the course David Hunter also held an 8am inspection.

He said: “We have had to abandon. The temperature got down to minus 1.7 last night and we’re only plus 0.3 now.

“The forecast is for a maximum of plus one to one and a half degrees which just does not give us confidence that the frost would lift from the exposed areas of ground in time for racing.”

No problems have been reported at the other remaining card in Britain, the all-weather fixture at Southwell.

Today’s sole surviving meeting in Ireland at Tramore got the go-ahead following a second course inspection.

Prospects are mixed for tomorrow with Sandown calling a 7.30am inspection.

Clerk of the course Andrew Cooper admits the course is facing an uphill battle to stage the fixture, which is due to feature the Grade One Blue Square Tolworth Hurdle.

He said: “We will have a look tomorrow morning. We have not had as sharp a frost as feared last night and temperatures did not drop below zero until 6am, although we did have a light dusting of snow overnight.

“We are expecting a maximum of two or three today with minus three forecast overnight and plus two or three tomorrow.

“We have covered the area in front of the stands and on the hill as they are the first to freeze, but obviously 95% of the course is not covered.

“The one good thing is that we didn’t have a frost last night.”

Folkestone have called a precautionary inspection for 7.30am ahead of Saturday’s meeting.

Although clerk of the course Andrew Waitt reports the track to be raceable at present, he is concerned by a cold overnight forecast.

He said: “We are fine at the moment but the forecast is a for a possible minus three overnight.

“It didn’t freeze last night so we’re fine at the moment but the forecast keeps changing so it’s a suck it and see situation really.”

Looking further ahead, Ludlow clerk of the course Bob Davies has called a Tuesday inspection ahead of Thursday’s meeting.

Although the fixture is still six days away, Davies will check the track at 2pm on Tuesday as forecasters are predicting a lengthy cold spell.

He said: “We have got a frost forecast every night until Tuesday so we thought we may as well let people know what we were planning.

“One frost is fine, two frosts is questionable and after three frosts you’re really struggling.

“The Met Office forecast is for maximum temperatures of plus one or two with lows of minus four to minus six so it wouldn’t be an optimistic outlook.

“We will have a look on Tuesday though and see where we go from there.”