Exeter calls second inspection for Tuesday's card but clerk 'hopeful' with rain finally on the way

The wait for racing at Exeter could continue with an inspection called for Tuesday's card, but course officials are hopeful it will go ahead with rain in the forecast this weekend.

The dry start to autumn led to the cancellation of the track's first fixture last week and conditions remain unraceable due to fast ground. Next week's fixture has already been turned into an all-hurdle card, with the feature Best Mate Chase abandoned.

Between ten and 30mm is forecast before Tuesday and clerk of the course Jason Loosemore said the track would need the middle to upper end of that estimate to pass the inspection at 9am on Monday.

Loosemore said: "We're unraceable and we've called an inspection to flag that we need sufficient rainfall. We're due rain all day on Sunday into the early hours of Monday, with some heavy spells potentially. We need to be sure it's easing the ground and hopefully we get to that point.

"If we got the low end of that rainfall then I wouldn't be confident, but I'm hopeful we get the middle to upper on the scale at this stage."

There is more optimism for the Haldon Gold Cup meeting, Exeter's biggest raceday, on November 7. It is the next fixture after Tuesday and is one in which quick ground led to a walkover in a £40,000 novice chase on the card last season.

More significant rainfall is finally set to arrive in the south west next week, according to forecasters.

Loosemore said: "Next week looks really unsettled, there's rain in the forecast every day up until October 28 which is really encouraging. It's looking much better and if we could get to good to soft by then that'd be great."

Exeter is not the only jumps track struggling with the dry autumn. Ludlow's card last Wednesday was the first to feature a walkover under the new rules, where the remaining horse is no longer required to go to the racecourse and walk over the winning line under their jockey.

Wednesday's card at Wetherby featured two match races on good ground (watered), while Thursday's meeting at Ffos Las has two three-runner fields declared on good, good to firm going.

There is an additional match race at Uttoxeter on Friday, where the ground has been watered to good, and Fakenham's six-race card on the same day has attracted just 29 declarations (good ground, watered).

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