Haydock off, green light for Navan, Lingfield to look again

This afternoon’s meeting at Navan will go ahead after the course passed a 7.30am inspection.

The card had been in some doubt due to an adverse forecast overnight but course officials were satisfied that the track is raceable.

Among the six-race card is the Grade One Navan Novice Hurdle, which features John Hanlon’s unbeaten Hidden Cyclone.

The meeting starts at 12.45pm and the going is soft.

Meanwhile, this afternoon’s meeting at Lingfield is subject to a further inspection at 10am.

Originally, clerk of the course Neil MacKenzie Ross gave the meeting the go ahead following his initial check at 6.30am.

Despite temperatures reaching a baltic minus 12.5C overnight, the track is raceable.

However, snow is now moving in earlier than anticipated.

“We are fit to go now and are snow free despite it being very cold,” he said.

“The forecasts keep changing, however. At 5.30am it said we would get a band of snow later but that has now changed to 9am and that it could be quite substantial for a while. While have a look at 10am and see where we are.”

Finally, this afternoon’s meeting at Haydock, featuring the Tommy Whittle Chase, has been abandoned due to snow.

Clerk of the course Kirkland Tellwright had called an 8am inspection due to an adverse forecast but just after 6am their fate was sealed.

Tellwright said: “It was not a difficult decision. Even the motorway is blocked. We’ve got about eight inches on the track. The trouble was it was very dry so it settled immediately.

“It snowed in the first half of the night so it made the decision easy.”