France may be more used to the heat but Vichy taking no chances for big meeting

It is no great secret that the closer you travel towards the Mediterranean, the hotter the rays of the sun get.

French racing thus has more frequent brushes with extreme heat than Britain and Ireland, most notably in 2003 when the country was struck by a heatwave that lasted through the whole of August, resulting in an estimated 14,000 heat-related deaths.

France Galop frequently change the timing of meetings at this time of the year, especially at inland locations where the heat builds during the course of the day and might not peak until around six in the evening.