Weather conditions on the other side of the Irish Sea are practically freezing.This has caught the attention of the officers who are taking care of the preparations for the big fixture scheduled to take place this Sunday at the
Meath track. Thus, Horse Racing Ireland was contacted and it was decided that the meeting that was supposed to take place on Saturday will now kick off next Thursday.
The Manager of Fairyhouse, Peter Roe said, “With three top quality Grade One races on the premier day of NH racing in Ireland, we want to do everything possible to preserve Sunday’s card.”
The manager added, “In light of the adverse weather forecast we feel the ground might be unable to take two days racing back-to-back. We’ll be putting frost covers at the take-off and landings of all fences and hurdles to protect
Sunday’s ground.”
On the other hand, the event that was going to take place at Newcastle on Saturday has been cancelled for the time being due to the thick snow. Meanwhile, the Fighting Fifth Hurdle event has also been moved to Wetherby next week.
This is exactly what happened two years ago.
The weather conditions in Newbury are not that rough and that means that the colt Denman will have to face 17 competitors on Saturday in his attempt to claim the Hennessy Gold Cup for the third time.
Big Fella Thanks, the strong contender of the Grand National was taken over by Harry Findlay this summer, while Findlay’s share in Denman was then taken over by Paul Barber. Interestingly enough, the two horses met in the greatest
race of the season as Findlay said, “I was thinking how I’d feel about it lying in bed early last night.”
He went on to say, “But as a racing fan, I’ll be cheering Denman on as much as I will Big Fella Thanks. I always considered Denman primarily Paul Barber’s. I’ve never been a prize money man and never got the trophies, so it doesn’t feel much different. I’ll
be cheering him on, though.”
The only concern that the owner of Big Fella Thanks shares with his trainer Ferdy Murphy is the fact that the colt cannot manage the three and quarter miles. As he said, “I know that sounds strange for a horse that was 4th
in the National, but he blatantly didn’t stay. He’ll come looming there at some stage, but whether he gets home is a different question.”
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