Worcester will have extra cooling stations available at Wednesday’s meeting when the course hosts the first afternoon jumps meeting since the current heatwave began.
The abandonment of racing at the Midlands track in 2009 after horses collapsed with heat exhaustion was the first time a meeting in Britain had to be called off owing to high temperatures. Worcester’s clerk of the course, Jeremy Martin, told the Racing Post: “To put it simply, we’ll be having more buckets of water available and more cooling down stations than usual.”
There were problems at Cheltenham this year when the course took the unprecedented decision to call off one of its races after officials concluded the three‑and‑a‑quarter‑mile distance was too extreme on one of the hottest April days on record. The decision followed the death of a runner after crossing the line in the opening race.
Measures to assist runners in the conditions were in evidence at Southwell on Monday after the clerk of the course, Roderick Duncan, announced that “horses won’t be coming into the winner’s enclosure to assist us in cooling them down and to enable ius to get plenty of water to them”.
Temperatures are expected to peak in midweek but the hot weather is forecast to last until into next week with National Hunt fixtures at Cartmel and Uttoxeter also scheduled over the next few days.
The British Horseracing Authority has a detailed list of instructions for tracks, trainers and jockeys with measures to alleviate the effects of hot weather which are sent out when temperatures start to approach 30C.
The BHA will also be releasing a video this week to highlight the work they do to alleviate the risks to horses and riders during heatwaves.
Meanwhile, Frankie Dettori is set to be booked for Epsom flop Knight To Behold in the Irish Derby at The Curragh on Saturday.
Trainer Harry Dunlop, who believes Knight To Behold can bounce back from a disappointing run in the Derby, said: “We think Frankie Dettori will ride. It’s not completely confirmed, but that’s hopefully the plan.”
His runner had impressed when an all-the-way winner in the Lingfield Derby Trial prior to Epsom and Dunlop believes his runner went off too fast.
“They went very quick early on at Epsom and we got rather involved in that. Things just didn’t go quite to plan on a very stiff track,” said Dunlop. “He’s in very good form and we are looking forward to Saturday. Richard Kingscote got off him last time and said Epsom didn’t really suit.
“We might ride him a bit differently [on Saturday]. The main thing is to try to get him to relax and get home, which we felt wasn’t the case last time. We will try and ride him a bit more conservatively.”
Carlisle 2.00 Lorton 2.30 Diva D 3.00 Paparazzi 3.30 Vive La Difference 4.00 Tor 4.30 Gavota (nb) 5.00 Final Treat
Salisbury 2.10 Dirty Rascal 2.40 Zac Brown 3.10 Oberyn Martell 3.40 Bombastic 4.10 Infrastructure 4.40 Fitzwilly 5.10 Thimbleweed
Worcester 2.20 Chase Me 2.50 Monbeg Legend 3.20 Cabaret Queen 3.50 Allez Karakoz 4.20 Rolling Maul 4.50 Ezanak 5.20 Balli Martine
Kempton 5.40 Noteworthy 6.10 Spirit Kingdom 6.40 Sporting Chance 7.10 Incentive 7.40 Sergio Leone (nap) 8.10 Eskendash 8.40 Knight Commander
Bath 5.50 Winged Spur 6.20 Fortune And Glory 6.50 Carrie's Vision 7.20 Case Key 7.50 Volpone Jelois 8.20 Guild 8.50 Crystal Deauville
