3pm Warwick and Uttoxeter must pass Saturday inspections
Warwick officials have called a precautionary inspection for 8am ahead of Saturday’s meeting due to the possibility of colder than expected temperatures.
Clerk of the course Sulekha Varma is “very optimistic” racing will go ahead as planned but feels it prudent to have a look first thing as temperatures are likely to dip below freezing overnight.
They also took the precaution of putting down fleece covers which will have to be removed once the meeting gets the all-clear.
“It is really precautionary. We’re not anticipating any problems, but we’ve had a couple of forecasts suggesting we might get down to an air temperature of minus 2C with a minus 4C on the ground,” she said.
“Theoretically that shouldn’t be a problem. We’re concerned that if that ends up being a degree or two colder we might have an issue.
“At the moment we are very optimistic that we will be racing tomorrow, but we are just being cautious.
“The fleece covers are still down. They’ve been down since Sunday, but they are not foolproof. We need to be getting them off by about 10 o’clock in time to get them all off before racing.”
The going is described as soft.
The prospect of another cold night has prompted Uttoxeter to hold a precautionary inspection at 8am ahead of Saturday’s meeting.
However, clerk of the course Charlie Moore is optimistic racing will go ahead as long as temperatures do not get too low.
“It took until just after 2pm to be raceable today,” he said.
“With temperatures only just above zero if it’s like last night when they were two degrees colder than forecast we would have a frost.
“The ground is very cold, so it is only sensible we keep everybody informed. However, we are optimistic of racing.
“The forecast is for the temperature to hover around zero, so we should be all right. We’ve just got to be prudent.
“The ground is very cold and it doesn’t take an awful lot to freeze it. We could get up to 6C before racing but we’re looking at about 4C before racing.
“We’ve put some additional fleece down on the vulnerable areas.”
The going is described as soft with heavy places on the two-mile chute. PA
11.45am Jump racing boost as all three meetings get go ahead
Tony Paley: Jumps racing got a boost on Friday when all three meetings passed inspections and got the go ahead. Bangor will race after officials passd the course fit following a third inspection at 11.30am and Kempton got the green light after a second look.
Barney Clifford, clerk of the course, announced an initial inspection for 8am, but that check has proved inconclusive. However, by the time of the second inspection at 10am, the temperature has risen and there was no frost in the ground.
“The most important thing was the temperatures. It got down to minus 1C. It’s now got back up to 2C,” said Clifford. “It’s still a bit crispy on top. We are going the right way and it should be fine in an hour’s time. It should get up to plus 4C or 5C. There is no frost in the ground.”
The going is described as good to soft, soft in places on the chase course and soft, good to soft in places on the hurdles course.
Newcastle got the all clear after a relatively mild night at Gosforth Park. James Armstrong, the clerk of the course, initially called an inspection for 8am on Thursday morning and although the track remained unraceable at that stage, he was keen to give the fixture every chance and announced a further check for this morning.
He was then able to confirm the fixture could go ahead earlier than anticipated. Armstrong said: “Most of the frost was out of the ground last night and as it only got down to 2C overnight, so we are now raceable. We had a millimetre of drizzle overnight and the ground is going to be hard work, but we are racing, which is the main thing.”
Friday’s best bets, by Greg Wood
The JP McManus-owned chaser Cantlow (3.35) has dropped to a very handy mark and when the ground dries up expect to see him pop up at a very decent price. The soft going may not be ideal this afternoon at Kempton but he does have AP McCoy on board and the champion jockey has an excellent record on the selection.
At Bangor the 4.50 in which Zara Phillips, David Loder and Henrietta Knight all have runners will command most of the attention but Assirem (3.50) from the upwardly mobile Ben Pauling yard is the one who should be backed. No great mystery here - the gelding trotted up at Towcester last week and is going to take plenty of stopping under a penalty if in the same mood.
Tipping Competition, final day
Our winners so far:
Monday
John Reel 15-8
Munsarim 9-2
Graphic 11-4
Tuesday
Amazing Blue Sky 3-1
Total Demolition 9-2
Secrets Safe 4-1
Wednesday
Quantum Dot 7-2
Third Strike 12-1
Merdon Castle 7-2
Thursday
Revaader 7-1
Etaad 7-2
Kings Apollo 5-1
And our leaders are. . .
Paragoncup +13.63
Mai11 +6.38
BearRides +6
15244 +5.88
. . . after Paragoncup found one winner yesterday to maintain the lead.
Today, we’d like your tips, please, for these races: 2.30 Kempton, 3.15 Bangor & 7.45 Wolverhampton.
This week’s prize is a couple of Premier tickets to Ascot for Saturday 14 February, featuring the Ascot Chase, won by Captain Chris, Cue Card and Riverside Theatre in recent years. Thanks to Ascot for offering the prize.
As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price on our nominated races, of which there will be three each day up until Friday. Non-runners count as losers. If you have not joined in so far this week, you are welcome to do so today, but you will start on -12.
In the event of a tie at the end of the week, the winner will be the tipster who, from among those tied on the highest score, posted their tips earliest on the final day.
For terms and conditions click here.
Good luck!
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