Doncaster's Vertem Futurity meeting cancelled with Newbury set for inspection

Doncaster's Ve

Doncaster's Vertem Futurity card is under severe threat of abandonment after a spell of torrential rain, with the fixture hinging on a Saturday inspection at 7.30am.

Conditions worsened during Friday's meeting with the going changing to heavy (from soft), and at close of play clerk of the course Roderick Duncan was fearing the worst.

Speaking late Friday afternoon, Duncan said: "Based on the weather forecast I am pessimistic [about the chances of racing], and that's unusual for me – I'm a born optimist."

Newbury is also under threat and could be in doubt if the forecast rain arrives. The ground was described as heavy for Friday's meeting and more rain on Saturday morning could prove painful for clerk of the course Keith Ottesen, who will inspect conditions at 8am.

He said: "It's tricky because of the timing of when the rain is due to come tomorrow, which is mid-morning, 10am to 11am.

"We'll evaluate things at 8am to see if anything has changed and how the ground is looking when we start repairing it tonight and early tomorrow morning, and also if we've had any rain overnight.

"There are no great quantities overnight – drizzle on and off – and if the band shifts a bit and it starts raining earlier we might know sooner, but plenty of people want to race."

Ottesen added: "If we're safe to we'll try our best, but if there's too much rain and the ground isn't taking it and isn't safe, we'll take a decision as soon as we can, but not necessarily at 8am."

Conditions also eased slightly at Cheltenham on Friday, with more rain forecast on Saturday, but Saturday's card is not expected to be in any jeopardy.

Clerk of the course Simon Claisse said: "We are expecting anything up to 20mm of rain before the start of racing tomorrow.

"It was originally forecast overnight but now seems to be coming through tomorrow morning. That will certainly turn the ground soft but currently there are no concerns about racing."

Monday's meeting at Redcar has been abandoned due to a waterlogged track.

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