Prospects of turf racing before Christmas look bleak as the second big freeze of the winter continues to bite.
The only jumps card remaining before Boxing Day is on Tuesday at Sedgefield, where hopes hang on an 8am inspection on Monday after the track suffered sub-zero temperatures.
Clerk of the course Charlie Moore said: "We're going to have a look at 8am, but we're obviously up against it. There is some warm air arriving later in the week, but it looks like it's going to come too late for us."
The other remaining jumps fixtures before Christmas - at Hereford on Tuesday and Musselburgh and Ludlow on Wednesday - have all fallen by the wayside.
Hereford has been hit by severe frosts and snow in recent days and clerk of the course Keith Ottesen saw little point in delaying the inevitable as he abandoned Tuesday's card.
He said: "There is not a huge depth of snow here. We covered the track last week, but it is still frozen in places underneath. We'd need a massive swing in the situation and that isn't going to happen, so it's sensible at this stage to call it off."
Ludlow clerk of the course Bob Davies reported: "We're still frozen. We had minus 13C on Saturday night. We've got frost forecast and the temperature might reach zero if we're lucky, and more snow coming. We haven't had a chance since last week."
Musselburgh general manager Bill Farnsworth added: "We've got two inches of snow and it's continuing to snow heavily. We should get more snow showers during the week. Underneath the ground is frozen solid. We've got no chance."
With a rise in temperatures expected at the end of the week, officials at both Kempton and Leopardstown are optimistic about their Christmas fixtures.
Leopardstown racecourse manager Tom Burke said: "We're not in bad condition. We had a slight dusting of snow overnight but we don't have any frost in the ground. On the 26th some charts suggest we could get up to around 10C."
Posts
