Newbury officials employing safe-not-sorry strategy with covers

The first running of Newbury's Ladbrokes Trophy is due to take place on ground largely similar to what horses faced on Friday, but officials will cover take-off and landing areas in case temperatures drop drastically.

Conditions were described on Friday as soft, good to soft in places over hurdles and good to soft, soft in places on the chase course, although Barry Geraghty described it as winter ground.

Clerk of the course Richard Osgood said: "They are talking about dropping to 2C/3C tonight, but we're going to cover the take-off and landing areas – you've always got to be on the safe side if they do drop lower.

"There could also be some light drizzle overnight and that could keep temperatures up as well.

"The hurdle course is just slightly softer than the chase track and that's what the jockeys are saying."

At Newcastle the going was soft, heavy in places on Friday afternoon after a largely dry day. Temperatures are expected to hit between 5C and 8C on Saturday, which is forecast to be dry with sunny spells.

Read Lee Mottershead's live blog on Ladbrokes Trophy day