Torrential rain forces Kempton to cancel all-weather evening fixture

Racing at Kempton on Wednesday evening was cancelled following significant downpours at the track.

The course was set to hold a seven-race all-weather Flat card but the track was waterlogged after heavy rain throughout the afternoon.

An inspection was held at 4.15pm, 50 minutes before the opening contest, but the ground was deemed too inconsistent for racing by clerk of the course Brian Clifford.

"Racing has been abandoned due to the sheer volume of water that fell just before racing," Clifford on Wednesday evening. "It was 24C at 1.30 this afternoon, then it just started to drizzle before we had a monsoon shower for about 40 minutes.

"It's still raining now and forecast to go all evening and the whole of the track is waterlogged. The horse walk is flooded too, so you can't get out onto the track anyway."

Kempton's ground team will tend to the track on Thursday and Clifford is confident the course will be well-treated for its Wednesday fixture next week.

"Tomorrow we'll carry out some remedial work and do a deep rotavation," he said.

"Because it's been so warm we haven't been able to turn it over as you'd lose the structure. It's cooling down a bit tomorrow, so we'll be able to turn the material over and that will improve things, and we'll be ready for racing next Wednesday."

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