'We've done our absolute best' - Chepstow clerk on big meeting challenges

Chepstow's clerk of the course Libby O’Flaherty said it had been a real challenge to prepare the South Wales track for its big autumn meeting after extremely dry conditions throughout the summer.

The two-day fixture begins on Friday, with the going described as good on the hurdles course – with the Flat track being used – and good to firm, good in places on the chase course.

Speaking on Friday morning, O'Flaherty said: "The staff here have been absolutely fantastic. We've had to do day shifts and night shifts, we’ve just been watering constantly and we are really happy with things now.

"I’ve been lucky I’ve been able to put the hurdles on the Flat track which has been watered through the summer and there's been a lot of hard work gone into the chase course."

Quick conditions have caused plenty of issues for jumps tracks this week. Tuesday's meeting at Huntingdon was abandoned after several jockeys reported their horses slipping, while fixtures at Ludlow, Exeter and Wincanton have been cancelled or relocated due to hard ground.

O'Flaherty expects more watering will be needed before the second day of the meeting on Saturday.

She said: “I don’t think the rain will change the going. It has been so dry so all we’ve been doing is just watering as much as we can.

"Saturday is going to be a dry day, we’ll assess the situation after racing on Friday and potentially put some more water on it overnight."

She added: “I think we can all stand here today and say we’ve done our absolute best."

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