Kempton forced to rebuild third-last after fence is burned down by arsonists

The challenge posed to Shishkin on his excellent chase debut at Kempton on Monday was slightly unorthodox as he faced 11 fences rather than the 13 that would normally have been jumped in the beginners' chase due to the third-last fence being burned down by arsonists.

The obstacle was damaged shortly before jump racing resumed at the track in October and groundstaff are working hard to rebuild it in time for the feature King George VI Chase on Boxing Day.

The Jockey Club-owned track has 24-hour security, which has had to be enhanced, but the perpetrators were able to access the track at around midnight. The incident was reported to Surrey Police.

"It's a huge inconvenience," said clerk of the course Barney Clifford on Monday. "We've had to strip it out, rebuild the frame and reorder birch, which was a concern as you can only cut at certain times of the year.

"We've received the required amount of birch and we need to rebuild it. They're permanent fences, built on site. The legs of the frame are in and we'll put on the cross-batons in the next week. We're building it in between meetings and hopefully it will be ready for Boxing Day."

The third-last fence is the first jumped in Kempton's home straight and in its absence false rails have been in place to guide runners around the spot where the fence should be positioned.

The six-race card on Monday was the third jumps meeting to be staged at Kempton since the incident and its last before the two-day meeting in December, headlined by the King George VI Chase.

Read more

Flawless Shishkin cut for Arkle after cruising to smooth victory on chase debut

Ultimate Daily - our daily newsletters from Racing Post's experts, exclusive to the inbox of Ultimate Members' Club subscribers. To receive the newsletter subscribe at racingpost.com/members-club