Horse racing: Catterick calls for inspection, Fakenham Sunday fixture called off
The big freeze has victimized almost all the racing, hurdle and jump events that were scheduled to take place this week and the week before. Those who survived were either rescheduled or postponed to another day. Nonetheless, the
weather conditions in the region are starting to improve and the temperature is increasing above the freezing point. Keeping in view the current weather scenario, the officials of the Catterick Bridge Racecourse will be carrying out an inspection for the Tuesday
meeting. The inspection will start at 8 a.m. on Monday morning and the prospects of the race will then be announced.
Fiona Needham, the clerk of the course was approached by correspondents on Friday afternoon. She was reported as saying,
“We have had quite a good thaw today and we are down to three inches of snow, less in places.”
She went on to say, “The forecast is for it to continue thawing but night time temperatures are expected to get colder next week.”
Fiona also added that the real prospects of the race will be announced once her team of officials observe the racecourse during the inspection. She is hoping that she is not being unrealistically optimistic.
On the other hand, the Sunday meeting at Fakenham has been abandoned after the Friday inspection was carried out by the officials on the course, which was covered in snow and ice.
The entire course was covered with a layer of snow that is about three inches thick. Moreover, crucial areas like the walkways and roads are stuffed with ice, which can be dangerous. As a result of these observations, David Hunter,
the clerk of the course decided to call off the Sunday fixture.
Meanwhile, the situation seems a bit more promising for the Huntingdon’s Sunday fixture that was initially planned to kick off on Thursday, but fell to the weather.
The Peterborough’s Chase meeting has a high chance of kicking off on Sunday after the course was thawed on Friday night and now looks reasonably race able.
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