Tuesday's meeting at Fairyhouse cancelled due to a waterlogged track

Tuesday's meeting at Fairyhouse has been cancelled due to a waterlogged track.

The meeting failed its 7.30am raceday inspection and the seven-race card, which was due to include the reappearance of Punchestown festival winner Fountain House, has been rescheduled to Friday, November 21.

Conditions are a stark contrast to those at Taunton, which has seen the start of its season delayed after Thursday's fixture was cancelled due to unsuitably firm ground.

A lack of sufficient rain over the weekend,  following an unseasonably dry autumn in the West Country, meant the ground was deemed unraceable.

There will be no racing at Taunton on Thursday because of a lack of rainCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

In an effort to save the meeting the two chases on the card had already been replaced by two hurdle contests, to enable Taunton to concentrate all of its watering efforts on one course.

Taunton clerk Robert Bellamy said: "The track is unraceable with the official going firm, good to firm in places. We are currently way under half of our annual rainfall and have even put down over 80mm of irrigation. 

"We put an all-hurdle card on with a view of a wet weekend. I had Paul Nicholls ringing me every five minutes saying it was chucking it down in [nearby] Shepton Mallet, and somehow Taunton has missed the bulk of it.

"We've had 2mm this [Monday] morning but we need a lot more. Taunton is a heavy clay course which has been properly baked in a drought. Because of the clay, the track doesn't need to just get wet, it needs to soak in. It is easing, but it's just not raceable. 

"It's very disappointing. The restaurants are booked out to the hilt and everybody is geared up for the opening meeting, which is normally very well supported by a good crowd. My hands are tied and it's nobody's fault, we just haven't had the rainfall."

Taunton: next meeting on November 27Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

The cancelled fixture comes at a testing time for jumps tracks, with field sizes under pressure, most noticeably in the novice chase division. A third walkover in five days took place on Monday, this time at Kempton, following other instances at Newbury and Sandown.

Wincanton's Badger Beers fixture also struggled for runners on Saturday when the going was good, good to firm in places. Only the concluding bumper attracted as many as eight runners, the required number for standard each-way betting to three places.

Taunton's next scheduled meeting is on Thursday, November 27.

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