Kempton and Wincanton pick up cancelled Cheltenham contests

The BHA on Wednesday moved swiftly to redistribute races from Cheltenham after the storied jumps venue was forced to cancel its Friday card because of a waterlogged track.

A host of meetings, including Haydock on Wednesday and Uttoxeter on Thursday, have been called off because of the elements, which have prompted British racing's regulatory body to take action.

They include transferring the Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle to Kempton a week on Saturday, when Wincanton will rescue the Paddy Power Dipper Novices' Chase.

Those events were due to take place on Friday at Cheltenham, which has endured 145mm of rain this month, with 85mm falling in the last week.

Friday cards

Simon Claisse, the track's long-serving clerk of the course, had little choice but to cancel on Wednesday morning and said: "It's disappointing but we weren't seeing any improvement after the volume of rain we've received. There are two parts of the course – coming down the hill and at the second-last fence – where there's no way round [the waterlogged areas]."

The hole left in the coverage on ITV's main channel by Cheltenham's absence has been filled by three races each from Exeter and Musselburgh, while the network will also screen the appearance of dual Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Al Boum Photo in the Savills New Year's Day Chase at Tramore.

Prospects of racing at Musselburgh are promising, while officials at Exeter will monitor conditions due to the threat of snow and frost. It is unlikely that there will be any problems for the all-weather action at Southwell on Friday.

Staff at Keith Dalgleish's yard in Lanarkshire woke up to lots of snowCredit: @DalgleishRacing

The ITV cameras are also set to broadcast on Saturday and clerk of the course Andrew Cooper is hopeful the meeting will be on, providing the forecasts do not change dramatically.

He said on Wednesday: "We had no issues overnight, temperatures got down to about 0C and we could have raced today. We're hopeful we should be okay, we just need a bit of luck with the forecasts over the next 72 hours."

Temperatures are expected to drop below freezing most nights before Saturday, but around 80 covers have been deployed to protect the most vulnerable areas of Sandown.

Hereford also races on Saturday and Cooper's counterpart Libby O'Flaherty inspected conditions on Wednesday, but will take a second look at 1pm on Friday.

The scene at Keith Dalgleish's yard in Lanarkshire on Wednesday morningCredit: @DalgleishRacing

"The track is raceable and Friday's inspection is a precaution due to the threat of overnight frosts," she explained.

"We could get down to -1C or -2C on Friday night, we'll monitor the forecasts and we'll cover all the vulnerable areas."

Given the recent cancellations, the BHA also announced an additional seven-race Flat card at Wolverhampton next Wednesday, while the fixture scheduled at Ffos Las that afternoon will be postponed 24 hours.

A two-mile handicap hurdle for fillies and mares, slated for Chepstow's original bill last Saturday, moves to the new Saturday date.

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