Freeze decimates fixtures

Wednesday
Fontwell - Off
Musselburgh - Off
Thursday
Hereford - Inspection 8am Wed
Catterick - Inspection 12pm Wed
Friday
Kelso - 'Hopeful'
Huntingdon - Frozen
Saturday
Kempton - Now all-weather
Warwick - Frozen
Wetherby - Frozen, inspection Thursday

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Sedgefield have been forced to abandon their National Hunt meeting on Tuesday due to the freezing weather.

An initial inspection on Monday proved inconclusive, however despite the application of frost sheets across the track, officials were left with no choice but to call off the meeting after sub-zero temperatures overnight.

Clerk of the course Charlie Moore said: "We're off, it got down to minus six at 6am, it has even got in under the sheets.

"If we were forecast five degrees for later in the day we might have a chance but we are not.

"We brought forward the inspection so as not to prolong the agony any longer."

And Wednesday's meetings at Musselburgh and Fontwell have also fallen foul of the cold snap after failing inspections.

No chance

"We've abandoned, it got down to minus seven last night," said Fontwell clerk of the course Ed Arkell.

"There is no prospect of the temperature getting above freezing today so we have no chance of racing.

"Apart from about 18 hours the course has been frozen since Boxing Day."

Musselburgh had been raceable over the weekend but a second hard frost on Monday night and a poor forecast means racing will not take place.

"We've had our second minus five night in a row and the ground is rock solid," reported Anthea Morshead.

"The maximum temperature forecast for today is plus two but some sleet is also forecast and that would just turn to ice on the track.

"It is not supposed to be that cold tonight but there is no prospect of the frost coming out of the ground."

Deteriorating

Thursday's meeting at Catterick is already in jeopardy after another severe frost on Monday night.

Clerk of the course Fiona Needham has called a noon inspection on Wednesday and is not optimistic over the chances of racing the following day.

"It is very cold here now and it was minus seven overnight so obviously, we are frozen," said Needham.

"The forecast seems to have deteriorated in that we are only forecast a slight frost tonight but then temperatures of minus three or four on Wednesday night.

"It is not good at the moment and we have called an inspection for 12pm on Wednesday."

And Thursday's other National Hunt fixture at Hereford is unlikely to survive with officials taking a look at the track on Wednesday morning.

Clerk of the course Katie Stephens said: "The chances are very slim. We are inspecting at 8am and we'll need a miracle to run.

"It was minus eight last night, it's minus two at the moment and down to minus seven again tonight."

Kempton's National Hunt card scheduled for Saturday has already been called off and replaced by an all-weather fixture.

Clerk of the course Brian Clifford took a look at the Sunbury circuit on Tuesday and felt there was no chance of being able to stage the meeting which included the Intercasino.co.uk Lanzarote Hurdle.

"Saturday's jumps meeting has been abandoned due to a frozen track," said Clifford.

"The forecast did not offer us enough chance of getting a thaw. We will now be holding a BHA all-weather Flat fixture instead, the details of which will be released later."

Struggle

Andrew Morris is clerk of the course at Huntingdon, who are due to race on Friday, and at Warwick, whose Saturday card features the totesport.com Classic Chase.

He said of the former: "We got down to minus seven last night and the track is obviously frozen.

"The forecast for the next couple of nights is for more frost and if it is correct, we are going to struggle.

"There is no inspection planned as yet, but I expect there will be.

"The situation (at Warwick) is fairly similar to Huntingdon. The track remains frozen and we are forecast low temperatures for the next three or four nights.

"The forecast yesterday offered us some encouragement that temperatures were going to rise towards the end of the week but I am not sure they will rise sufficiently high enough to get the frost out of the ground."

Wetherby clerk of the course Jonjo Sanderson is not optimistic of racing in West Yorkshire on Saturday, with the track currently frozen.

"We are frozen solid in many places at the moment and we dipped to around minus five last night," said Sanderson.

"You can't get the stick in the ground in some parts and we are forecast minus two and three for the next couple of nights and minus four on Friday night.

"If it doesn't improve significantly on Wednesday, which I don't think it is going to, we will probably have a look on Thursday.

"I don't see any point in prolonging the agony too much as it's not looking brilliant at the moment."