Testing conditions at Sandown while engineering works halt train services

Sandown clerk of the course Andrew Cooper expects the ground for Saturday's Tolworth Hurdle card to be dead and hard work, with the going description predominantly soft.

Heavy in places features on the hurdles track while it is good to soft in places on the chase course and Cooper said: "It's all a bit dead. When you get this very wet ground and then a dry spell it tends to be hard work on both courses, particularly so on the home straight of the hurdles course which is the slowest bit.

"I think it's going to be quite tiring, hard work and it's better in the back straight on both circuits. We had a light splash of rain this morning [Friday], it only measured a millimeter. It's the first rain we've seen since Boxing Day. It's been a dry day today, it'll be chilly overnight but nothing of concern and we're expecting a dry, eight or nine degree day tomorrow."

Cooper also had a warning for those intending to travel by train from London. He added: "It's not connected to the South West Trains strike, there are weekend engineering works on the line between Clapham Junction and Surbiton. There's a rail replacement bus between those stations, and then trains are running from Surbiton through to Esher and on to Woking and they aren't going beyond Surbiton from the Woking direction.

"It is out of our hands but there is a means of getting here but it is unfortunately rather long-winded if you're travelling from Waterloo."

The racecourse tweeted: "We have plenty of on-site parking, free parking in the centre of the course or £6 parking in the main carpark."

Members can read the latest exclusive interviews, news analysis and comment available from 6pm daily on racingpost.com