Racing is likely to take place at Cheltenham on Saturday, despite the abandonment of Friday’s card, because both the hallowed turf and the weather are drying up, a course official said on Thursday. Simon Claisse, who has been clerk of the course here for 20 years, was dismayed to lose a raceday in November for the first time since he came to work here but added: “We remain optimistic that things will dry out and we’ll be OK for Saturday.”
Around 40mm of rain on Wednesday night into Thursday morning meant there was no chance of Friday’s card going ahead, with areas of flooding on the chase and hurdles courses near the two-mile start. Gazing across his dreich domain, Claisse said conditions reminded him of July 2007 when Gloucestershire suffered severe flooding.
“We don’t believe we’ve seen water sitting on the course like this since that summer,” he said. “Depending on which part of the site you’re talking about, we’ve had between 37mm and 42mm over the last 18 hours. That represents about 40,000 gallons per furlong of track, a massive volume of water. By mid-morning, the main straight was flooded right across its full width.”
A 3pm inspection is planned for Friday to determine whether Saturday’s action can go ahead but Claisse said that, in a best case scenario, he might even be able to give the fixture a green light earlier than that. “The prospects are for the rain to peter out through this afternoon. The forecast for tonight is for a few showers.
“If that is accurate, with a dry day on Saturday and a dry day on Sunday, I’m hopeful that we’ll be racing on Saturday. The signals are strong that the worst of it is over and things should start to dry up significantly from now onwards.”
Two races from Friday’s card will be restaged over the weekend, assuming racing can take place. The Ballymore Novice Hurdle will become the first race on Saturday at 12.05pm, while the cross-country race will be slotted into Sunday’s card, although the ‘Canal Turn’ obstacle is likely to be missed out unless waterlogging in the area improves dramatically.
It is possible that obstacles might also have to be missed on the main course, Claisse recalling at least one fixture on which five fences per circuit had to be omitted. He hopes to avoid a repeat of that but added: “We will do whatever we need to do to ensure the fixture has the best chance of going ahead.”t
Rachael Blackmore returns to her ‘special place’
The last day Rachael Blackmore was riding at Cheltenham, she won a Grade One race on a 50-1 shot. Now the Irish jockey, who made such a stunning breakthrough into the big time last season, is on her way back to take part in the three-day race meeting at the Gloucestershire track this weekend, an occasion that, for many jump-racing fans, marks the true start of each season.
“It’s a special place,” the 30-year-old said. “For anyone who gets a jockey’s licence, a winner at Cheltenham is the dream. It’s brilliant I can say that I’ve done it. There’s always an extra bit of buzz there. Cheltenham in general is a very special place and winners any time of year are hard to come by.”
Blackmore did so well last winter there was quite a bit of expectation for her prospects at the March Festival, where her total of 17 rides was a record for a female jockey. She delivered on day one with a comfortable handicap success on A Plus Tard, followed three days later by Minella Indo in the Albert Bartlett.
“People tell you what it’s like to win a race at Cheltenham but I think to believe them, you have to go and do it. It does live up to all expectation. It was a lot of relief when A Plus Tard won, as well as joy, it takes the pressure off. But it was just a fantastic moment. You’ve ridden a winner in Cheltenham, it was incredible. And then for Minella Indo to do it on Friday in a Grade One was very special.”
Blackmore is “really looking forward” to this return to the scene of those triumphs, though at the moment she is only scheduled to be at Cheltenham on the Friday, before returning to Ireland for valuable contests like Saturday’s Morgiana Hurdle.
“I’ll be on Dancing On My Own in the Ballymore Hurdle on Friday. We thought a lot of him last year. He’s got some good form behind Klassical Dream. I was very disappointed with him in Galway, he didn’t perform, but back going left-handed last time, he did it very easily. Hopefully he can do the business. It looks a good race.”
Life has changed a bit for Blackmore now that her profile is so much higher. She is an ambassador for the bookmaker BetVictor and sounds a shade regretful not to be taking part in the BetVictor Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Saturday. She has a similar role for Kildare Village, a collection of luxury shops that led to her doing some modelling this summer.
And she enthuses about her role supporting Ireland’s 20x20 campaign, aiming to increase the visibility of women’s sport. “The aim is to get 20% more coverage by the end of 2020 for women in sport and 20% more participation. It’s a fantastic campaign.”
She is more reticent about ambitions for her own career. “A lot of jockeys would say the same, you’re just going day by day, I don’t set myself any major targets. I never would have set myself a target of what I’ve achieved, so I think I’ll just continue with that mentality, take every day as it comes and hope to just keep the momentum up and stay in the winner’s enclosure.”
Newcastle
12.00 Mr Love 12.30 Speak Of The Devil (nb) 1.05 Chanting Hill 1.40 Skipping On 2.15 Royal Claret 2.50 The King Of May 3.25 Wetlands
Southwell
12.50 Grand Coureur 1.25 Sartene's Son 2.00 Jepeck 2.35 Shantou Vow 3.10 Peltwell (nap) 3.45 Leskinfere
