Wolverhampton to inspect again for Tuesday’s all-weather meeting but Southwell confident it can beat the cold
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Wolverhampton will face another inspection on Tuesday morning as it aims to bounce back from freezing temperatures which forced its Monday card to be called off.
The all-weather venue had to cancel its first meeting of the week, resulting in a blank day of racing. and the track has called for an 8am inspection ahead of its next fixture on Tuesday due to temperatures dropping to -5C overnight.
However, conditions are anticipated to improve after that, with highs of 3-4C, and clerk of the course Fergus Cameron is optimistic the fixture will go ahead provided the forecast does not worsen.
Cameron said: “We have a fairly hard frost forecast again for tonight, but temperatures tomorrow are significantly better than today.”
With Musselburgh’s jumps card called off, Wolverhampton is due to be one of two all-weather fixtures staged on Tuesday alongside Southwell, which was also hit by snow on Monday morning but remained confident there was no risk of cancellation.
“We had a dusting of snow this morning and we’re power harrowing the track this afternoon,” Southwell clerk John Holliday said on Monday. “We’ll leave it in that condition for Tuesday’s frost protection. Unless we have heavy snow overnight, which is not forecast, then I’m confident on Tuesday we’ll be fine.
“We’re anticipating -6C for the second night in a row. We haven’t really raced at that temperature on the Tapeta, but with the way it’s gone today and with the rising temperatures on Tuesday afternoon, there’s no reason for concern at the moment.”
While all-weather cards will dominate proceedings on Tuesday and Wednesday, the possibility of jump racing returning on Thursday was improved by the introduction of an additional card at Ffos Las.
The Met Office has issued yellow warnings across the whole of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England for snow and ice, while the UK Health Security Agency placed amber alerts throughout England for cold weather until Friday. Met Eireann also announced yellow weather warnings in Ireland until Wednesday.
Jump racing likely to resume on Thursday
Jump racing looks set to resume in Britain by Thursday, with the fixture list bolstered by the inclusion of an additional jumps card at Ffos Las.
The track will stage a meeting alongside scheduled fixtures at Taunton, Clonmel and Catterick as the cold snap eases in the second half of the week, with the Welsh venue faring particularly well from Tuesday onwards.
“It’s not too bad here,” said Ffos Las clerk Tracey O’Meara. “We had some snow but the temperature will be -2C overnight on Monday and then it’s due to stay above freezing from Tuesday morning.
“It doesn’t look like it’ll dip below 4C from Tuesday onwards, night or day. There’s some rain forecast but Thursday looks to be dry. We’ve got the benefit of being beside the sea, so we don’t tend to get the really cold weather.”
Ffos Las: will stay above freezing from Tuesday morningCredit: Steve Davies
Hopes are high that some or all of Saturday’s turf cards at Kempton, Warwick and Wetherby – each of which is due to feature on ITV4 – might beat the weather.
Wednesday will mark the fourth straight day with no action over jumps after Leicester’s card was cancelled following an inspection on Monday morning.
Temperatures were as low as -8C at Leicester, and following an inspection clerk of the course Jimmy Stevenson said: “The frost is properly in the ground now and it takes a few days to come out. I don’t think it’s going to go above freezing today and we’ve got a similar forecast for tonight.”
However, a thaw could arrive in time to allow turf racing to return at Taunton on Thursday.
Clerk of the course Robert Bellamy said on Sunday: “We’re not rock-solid and if the forecast is correct I’d be hopeful of racing. There’s improvement after tomorrow. It could be 3C to 5C on Wednesday and Thursday.”
Unusually in midwinter, Bellamy may have to irrigate the track and he said: “I’ve been clerking for a while and to think of watering on January 5 or 6 is bonkers, but I think I’ll have to just to keep the moisture in the top of it. We had good ground last week but only just, because it’s been dry since before Christmas.”
Racing could also go ahead on Friday at Exeter, where clerk of the course Jason Loosemore said: “I’m pretty hopeful.
“We’ll be frozen going into Tuesday night but from there on it looks warmer and wetter. Any welcome rain will push the frost out of the ground in double quick time and if the forecast is right, we should be fine.”
Exeter: “If the forecast is right, we should be fine”Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
And prospects have also improved for the Chatteris Fen Hurdle card at Huntingdon, where trainee clerk of the course Katie Margarson said: “I was feeling fairly pessimistic until I saw the weather report this morning.
“On Thursday we could have 9C overnight. That could well save the day. We’re probably going to be frozen in places up to Wednesday, then there are 7mm of wintry showers about on Thursday, which will help as well. I’m optimistic we’ll be on now.”
Thursday’s North Yorkshire Grand National meeting at Catterick also appears in doubt with an inspection called for 8am on Tuesday.
Clerk of the course Fiona Needham said: “It’s a long outsider but we’re wanting to give it every chance. There’s due to be another hard frost tonight, but the forecast is a little bit more favourable because it doesn’t look quite as cold after that.”
Ground and inspection updates in full
Tuesday
Musselburgh Cancelled
Southwell (AW)
Wolverhampton (AW) Inspection to be held at 8am on Tuesday
Wednesday
Kempton (AW)
Leicester Cancelled
Lingfield (AW)
Thursday
Catterick Inspection to be held at 8am on Tuesday
Chelmsford (AW)
Clonmel Soft to heavy. Overnight temperatures falling below freezing, but thaw forecast from Wednesday afternoon
Ffos Las Soft. Temperatures forecast above freezing until raceday but wintry showers possible
Taunton Good. Temperatures forecast to rise above freezing on Tuesday morning and remaining so through to raceday
Friday
Exeter Frozen in places. Temperatures forecast to improve beyond Tuesday night with possibility of rain
Huntingdon Frozen in places. Wintry showers forecast for Thursday with possibility of 9C overnight temperatures before racing
Naas Meeting rescheduled from Sunday due to frozen track. Possibility of sleet on raceday morning
Southwell Frozen in places. Possibility of overnight sleet before raceday with temperatures not forecast to get above freezing
Wolverhampton (AW)
Saturday
Fairyhouse Overnight temperatures forecast to dip below freezing before raceday. Afternoon highs of 3C
Kempton Frozen in places. Overnight temperatures forecast to dip below freezing before raceday. Afternoon highs of 3C
Lingfield (AW)
Newcastle (AW)
Warwick Frozen in places. Rain forecast for Thursday and Friday. Remaining cold overnight. Highs of 5C on raceday
Wetherby Frozen in places. Rising to 4C/5C on Thursday but nighttime temperatures not forecast to get above freezing before raceday
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