Scary!

Chepstow will assess conditions at 9am on Monday morning as they continue to battle against an outbreak of microscopic parasitic worms.

The Welsh venue was forced to abandon last Thursday's meeting as clerk of the course Keith Ottesen was not happy with some areas of the track, and experts have since diagnosed an outbreak of root gall nematodes.

Chepstow are due to race on Bank Holiday Monday, but Ottesen is keen to check the progress of the recovery with a view to switching the fixture to fellow Northern Racing track Bath.

He said: "We are just taking a step-by-step approach with this and doing whatever we can. You can't see the root gall nematodes, but they are there and they attach themselves and cut off the supply of nutrients and water to the turf.

"It only affects certain types of grass and it is only small patches of the track that are affected. We have taken advice from Dr Colin Fleming, who is a leading authority on nematodes, and we are working on the track.

"We are spraying and that should help us over the next two to three weeks, and the current wet weather is a help in terms of reseeding.

"The plan is there to switch the meeting to Bath, but obviously we would like to race, although we have to be satisfied it is safe to do so."