Race cancellations continue into the week
Following a weekend fraught with bad weather and filled with races cancelled and rescheduled, Folkestone has now abandoned its Monday meeting after a Monday afternoon track inspection. The horses had already lined up for the first race, but when it became
apparent the snow was balling up in their hooves, the interest of safety prevailed.
“My team worked relentlessly to get the meeting on, but at the end of the day the decision was taken out of our hands,” said course clerk Andy Waitt to Racing Post. “Horses had ice balls under their hooves when they got to the start, and they were flicking
straight out as they cantered back in while the stewards made further deliberations. In the interests of safety the decision was made to abandon.”
The track had passed a 7:30am inspection but was hit by heavy snows afterwards. The first race was delayed and eventually Monday’s racing was called off.
"We were told we would possibly get light snow showers through the day, but they started at around 8.30am and they turned out to be heavy."
Ayr has already cancelled Wednesday’s meeting, following in the footsteps of Catterick in response to the expected freeze through the week. Plumpton and Navan are also holding their Wednesday meeting’s pending a Tuesday inspection.
“We abandoned due to a frozen track, and low daytime temperatures aren't going to effect a thaw,” said Ayr course clerk Emma Marley. “The forecast is for -4C every night and we are -1C now at noon, so we felt we had little prospect.”
In what could be the biggest loss of the week, Peter Roe, manager of Fairyhouse, has admitted that there’s a good chance Thursday’s meeting won’t be going ahead. The track is scheduled to host three Grade 1 races on Thursday, the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle, the
Royal Bond Novice Hurdle, and the Drinmore Novice Chase.
“We will review the situation tomorrow,” said Roe. “We are already looking at possible contingency plans if we cannot race on Thursday and we might be in a position to say more about options and alternatives tomorrow.”
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