Hot spell takes its toll but many trainers continue to support drought-hit Bath

Andrew King spends Wednesday afternoon at parched Bath, where the lack of a watering system has inevitably led to small fields and some doubt over whether racing can continue in August if the rain does not arrive

Britain’s highest Flat racecourse at 780ft above sea level, Bath has always been one of the tracks most affected by a prolonged heatwave.

These scorching conditions have led to the word ‘hard’ appearing in going reports for the first time in years.