Can anything be saved from frozen Warwick? Rescheduling of races set to be discussed with the BHA

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Discussions are likely to be held early next week about the possibility of salvaging any races from Saturday's cancelled card at Warwick.

When the same fixture was called off last year, the Hampton Novices' Chase was rescheduled and run as part of the Berkshire Winter Million meeting at Windsor the following Sunday, although the feature William Hill Half A Mill Classic Handicap Chase was not rearranged.

Asked whether the same could happen this season, a BHA spokesman said: "We always work with participants and racecourses to establish the necessity and feasibility of rearranging races, especially key preparation races like the Hampton, which we regularly do at this time of year."

Asked about salvaging the Classic Chase, William Hill racing sponsorship manager Mark Walton said:  “It’s naturally disappointing to lose a race like the William Hill Half A Mill Classic Handicap Chase, not least because of the bonus we are putting on for this year’s Randox Grand National for any horse that wins one of our sponsored trial races and then wins at Aintree in April.

"We’re incredibly excited to see if any horse can achieve this historic feat so we’d be delighted to reschedule if a solution can be found, but we also recognise that because of the volume of racing in the UK it is not a straightforward process for racecourses or the BHA, who carefully plan the race programme months in advance."

Warwick lost a week-long struggle to beat the frost when its meeting was called off early on Saturday morning because of frozen areas in the back straight that were impossible to navigate around.

The Hampton is a Grade 2 contest won two years ago by Grey Dawning ahead of his victory in the Turners Novices' Chase at Cheltenham, while the Classic Chase had been due to feature Gold Cup entry Myretown and notable Grand National hope Mr Vango.

A post from trainer Nick Alexander on X bemoaned the loss of a "crucial fixture in the build-up to Cheltenham" and suggested that in Ireland the whole card would be moved to a day next week.

He wrote that the British funding mechanism didn't allow for that, and although Pattern races might be run elsewhere it was not the same, and added: "The UK will remain at a disadvantage until we find a way."

The BHA pointed out the difficulty of transferring an entire meeting and said: "The rearrangement of entire fixtures is more complex and depends on a range of factors, in particular the wider fixture list and existing opportunities elsewhere within the race programme.

"However, we do always work closely with connections, racecourses, broadcasters, the Levy Board and others to determine what realistic possibilities there may be, depending on the circumstances."

Read more:

No weather worries for Berkshire Winter Million and other meetings next weekend with Britain's cold snap set to ease off

'The closer you get to a meeting the more people you're obliged to pay' - racecourses reveal the cost of cancelled fixtures 

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