Doncaster suffers casualties

Almost half the runners have been pulled out of Saturday's Sky Bet Chase at Doncaster.

Nine horses in total have been withdrawn from the 22 strong field leaving 13 to contest the £85,000 feature.

The going was changed to soft mid-way through Friday's card but trainers seem unhappy with conditions at the South Yorkshire course

"It has been sticky, holding ground, typical drying ground after a lot of rainfall," Clerk of the course David Williams told the Racing Post after the day's racing.

"And all afternoon they have been coming into a headwind in the straight so it has been tiring ground for them."

Ferdy Murphy's three runners Hot Weld, Noir Et Vert and You're Special will bypass the race as will Henry Daly's well fancied pair Possol and Billyvoddan.

Tough

Ante-post favourite According To Pete however, is still due to get the run despite shouldering plenty of weight in the testing conditions.

Speaking to the paper on Saturday, trainer Malcolm Jefferson said he remained hopeful for the eight-year-old despite the ground

"The horse is in grand form and he is so tough and genuine," he said.

"Some of these small horses can carry the weight better than the big ones and it would be great to win such a big race in Yorkshire.

"It will be tough in the ground but we remain hopeful."