Mendelssohn camp keen for rain not to be a pain again on retrieval mission

It's hot in Britain and it's hot in the US too, where extreme heat has again forced the cancellation of races.

Temperatures are, however, forecast to reach 'only' 26C in New York, where Aidan O'Brien's team at Belmont Park includes Mendelssohn, while Marco Botti will also be represented, in the Belmont Oaks with Capla Temptress.

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Indeed, aside from the heat, there is actually a weather warning in place for rain in the city, in effect until 4pm local time (9pm BST) on Friday. It read: "Heavy rainfall from showers and thunderstorms will result in urban and poor drainage flooding. Rainfall rates of up to two inches per hour are possible with some of these storms."

Baking sunshine, rather than rain, was the problem at Ellis Park racecourse in Kentucky, where racing was abandoned after two contests because of extreme heat and humidity on Thursday.

The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for the region with a temperature of 43C being recorded and the prospect of it rising to 45C.

Ellis Park racing secretary Dan Bork said the decision was made by track management after consulting with jockeys, vets and horsemen.

"With horseracing, every day is a priority for safety, and we take every precaution necessary to get all our players on days like this to be ready to go," Bork said.

"Water everywhere, ice everywhere. With Wednesday being so extreme and this hot weather again today, we just thought it was in everyone's best interest to take the rest of the day off. The heat index went up a little bit higher than we thought it was going to get to.

"I think it's the right move. It's unfortunate for us, but safety first. We apologise for the inconvenience to our fans and horsemen. The good news is that the weather is supposed to break, and we look forward to better conditions for Friday's racing programme."

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