Trainers fear weekend wipeout as cold snap leaves Cheltenham facing key 48 hours

Full Back (Jamie Moore) powers up the hill to land the 3m 2f handicap chase in front of a bumper New Year's Day crowdCheltenham 1.1.22 Pic: Edward Whitaker

Cheltenham: 'challenging forecast' leading up to December Gold Cup meetingCredit: Edward Whitaker

Cheltenham faces a crucial 48 hours before its December meeting, with clerk of the course Jon Pullin admitting impending sub-zero temperatures present a "challenging forecast" if racing is to go ahead.

The sudden cold snap is already beginning to have an impact, with Hexham cancelling its fixture on Wednesday due to frozen ground. Bangor has called an inspection for its fixture on Friday, the same day Cheltenham and Doncaster's two-day meetings get under way.

Both Doncaster and Cheltenham, which host Graded contests on Saturday, will deploy covers overnight in order to protect the ground from the plummeting temperatures due to hit Britain on Wednesday.

Read the full story

Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.

Subscribe to unlock

Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data

Already a subscriber?Log in

Catherine MacraeReporter

Published on 6 December 2022inNews

Last updated 17:19, 7 December 2022

Copy

more inNews