Tag Archive for: Lingfield

Knight and Den deliver Lingfield double for TJ Kent

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It was a red letter day for Newmarket handler TJ Kent, who along with jockey Tom Marquand registered a double at Lingfield on Saturday.

A former assistant to Roger Varian and in his fourth year with a trainer’s licence, he successfully saddled the consistent Obsidian Knight (11-2) to land the Huge Daily Boosts Only At BetUK Handicap, before Super Den (11-2) struck in the concluding Spreadex Sports £300 Spread Betting Cashback Handicap.

Although a first-ever double for Kent, it was just a regular day at the office for Marquand, who the Red House Stables trainer was keen to praise after their second success of the day.

He said: “It’s been a fantastic day and I’m delighted for all connections, but I have to say Tom gave Super Den an absolutely perfect ride.

“That’s twice today he’s done it for me – William Haggas is a great trainer but he’s also a great judge of a jockey. We’re very fortunate in this country that we have so many top-class jockeys and Tom is one of those.”

It was a case of a plan coming together in the finale when Super Den reversed the form of his previous outing, avenging a one-length track-and-trip defeat at the hands of 9-4 favourite Starshiba.

“We did actually target these two races,” added Kent. “We ran Super Den here last time to see how he handled the track and that’s why we came back.”

“It’s the first double we’ve had and if you look at our numbers and what we’re doing, I couldn’t be happier. I’ve got a great little team at home and hopefully a day like this brings us a couple of orders.”

Obsidian Knight ridden by Tom Marquand wins the Huge Daily Boosts Only At BetUK Handicap at Lingfield Park Racecourse
Obsidian Knight ridden by Tom Marquand wins the Huge Daily Boosts Only At BetUK Handicap at Lingfield Park Racecourse (Steven Paston/PA)

Ryan Moore, riding in the UK for the first time in 2023, looked to have made a race-winning move aboard George Boughey’s 11-4 favourite Paris Light only to be reeled in by Marquand and Obsidian Knight in the 10-furlong handicap.

Kent believes there is more to come from the five-year-old, who has been somewhat unlucky since scoring here in October and was securing his third victory at the track.

“Things just haven’t worked out for him in his last few runs,” continued Kent. “Jamie Spencer gave him a cracking ride when he was beaten not far at Wolverhampton and he was beaten here last time by an improver.

“He’s been very consistent – he’s very honest and genuine.

“That’s three times he’s won round Lingfield now. We were more than hopeful he would be in the shake up and we’ll probably keep him going on the all-Weather and see if we can pick up some prize-money from the All-Weather Championships.

“We’ll see how he comes out of it and if we’re not happy, we could always give him a little break and look at some options on the turf as we don’t think he’s just an all-weather horse.”

Although out of luck in his first three rides of the day for Boughey, Moore made no mistake in his final taste of the action by pushing out the 15-8 favourite All The King’s Men for a commanding two-and-a-half-length victory in the Spreadex Sports Get £40 In Bonuses Handicap.

A €675,000 yearling, the winner was twice victorious in 10 starts for Fabrice Chappet in France and was scoring off a mark of 79 on his stable bow for the Saffron House Stables handler.

All The King’s Men ridden by Ryan Moore wins the Spreadex Sports Get 40 In Bonuses Handicap at Lingfield Park Racecourse
All The King’s Men ridden by Ryan Moore wins the Spreadex Sports Get 40 In Bonuses Handicap at Lingfield Park Racecourse (Steven Paston/PA)

It was Luke Morris who denied the the Moore/Boughey combination in the opening BetUK’s Acca Club £5 Free Bet Handicap when John Ryan’s 28-1 shot First Emperor saw out the two-mile distance best to see off 11-8 market leader Ehteyat.

Morris was himself foiled late when Molly Gunn produced Beau Geste (9-1) to perfection to seal the Spreadex Sports First Goalscorer Insurance Classified Stakes in the shadow of the post, while Hayley Turner got on the scoresheet aboard David Simcock’s Harry Brown (7-1) in the talkSPORT Powered By Fans Handicap.

There was also an all-northern finish to the BetUK Over 40,000 Live Streamed Races Handicap when man of the moment Billy Loughnane helped Ruth Carr’s Embour (16-1) edge out the Karl Burke-trained Silky Wilkie.

Moore fielding strong squad should Lingfield beat the freeze

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One man desperate for Lingfield’s scheduled third day of its Winter Million meeting to go ahead is Gary Moore, who has several leading chances headed by Goshen.

The seven-year-old would appear to have a strong claim in the Weatherbys Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide Hurdle, in which he was third last season, should the meeting pass an 8am precautionary inspection.

Goshen hung out to the right, as he had done on several occasions before, that day but Moore is happy to go back left-handed with him due to the excellent prize-money on offer, with £52,000 available to the first home.

An easy winner of the Coral Hurdle at Ascot already this season, Goshen failed to see out the trip when second to Paisley Park in the rearranged Long Walk Hurdle at Kempton over Christmas.

“We’ve got to give it a go as the prize-money is good and I don’t think the race is overly strong,” said Moore.

“He’s had a good year and done amazingly well and his next run will probably be at Wincanton back over two miles (Kingwell Hurdle).

“He’s in good form, has come out of Kempton well and would go there with every chance.”

Nicky Henderson’s First Street, third in the Relkeel Hurdle over two and a half miles, would appear Goshen’s main rival while three of the seven declared have other options this weekend.

In the Surrey National, Moore is represented by Movethechains, who enjoyed four wide-margin victories at Lingfield last season.

Movethechains finished a respectable fifth in the Welsh National
Movethechains finished a respectable fifth in the Welsh National (David Davies/PA)

He reappeared in the Welsh National and finished fifth, albeit beaten 46 lengths.

“I’m looking forward to him. He ran really well in the Welsh National to say he hadn’t had a run before,” said Moore.

“He runs well round Lingfield and I just hope it’s on for him. I would like to think he’s still well treated, but you can never tell until you get to the racecourse.”

Moore also runs Cloud Dancer in the opening bumper, Heaven Smart in the Winter Million Ballykelly Consulting Novices’ Handicap Hurdle, Hudson De Grugy in the Cazoo Beginners’ Chase, Teddy Blue in the Sovereign Handicap Hurdle and Haddex Des Obeaux in the Godstone Handicap Chase.

Haddex Des Obeaux was a winner at Warwick last weekend
Haddex Des Obeaux was a winner at Warwick last weekend (Nigel French/PA)

“They’ve been all trained especially for it really,” he said.

“I love Lingfield and it’s not far away. I think it’s a very underestimated racecourse and a great track.

“I know you do get soft ground there, but they are National Hunt horses and you know what you are going to get, so I guess don’t go there if you don’t want soft ground.”

The one race in which Moore is not represented is the feature Fleur De Lys Chase, in which Kim Bailey’s Two For Gold is out to repeat his victory of 12 months ago.

He went on to finish second to Fakir D’Oudairies in the Grade One Ascot Chase and ran well for a long way in the Grand National, but he disappointed back at Aintree in the Grand Sefton on his only outing this term.

Bailey said: “We shall be doing our best, so let’s hope the meeting is on.

“The horse is very well, I couldn’t be happier with him.

“He’s been trained for the day, we know he’ll go in the conditions, it will be a war of attrition so it’s fingers crossed.

“He has probably had one race too many at Aintree now, I don’t think we’ll be going back there again.”

Lingfield call morning check ahead of Sunday jumps action

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Sunday’s meeting at Lingfield will need to pass a precautionary inspection at 8am on raceday if it is to go ahead.

The feature event of a planned nine-race fixture is the £165,000 Fleur De Lys Chase, with two other hurdles events worth £110,000 and £100,000 also on the card, which is the culmination of the Winter Million weekend.

The first of three days of action was claimed by the weather on Friday but Saturday’s all-weather card went ahead as planned.

While clerk of the course George Hill reported the track to be fit for action on Saturday afternoon, another chilly night is forecast and he admits some luck is required with the course covered overnight.

Lingfield raced on the all-weather track on Saturday
Lingfield raced on the all-weather track on Saturday (Steven Paston/PA)

He told Sky Sports Racing: “We have passed our 4pm inspection, we’re happy with conditions at the moment and we have now got a precautionary inspection for 8am.

“We’ve had a big team on track today. We’ve had a massive group effort with teams from Fontwell, Brighton, Uttoxeter, Windsor, Chepstow, head office – we had about 45-50 people on track, running our all-weather meeting too.

“It’s been pretty busy and hectic on site. Everyone has worked extremely hard and we’re trying out best. We’ve had a great day today and we’re excited for tomorrow.

“We need the better end of the forecast for tonight. It is going to be a cold night, we’ve done our best and covered up (the track), it’s been a big effort and we need the lower end of the forecast to be OK tomorrow morning.

“We will know by 8am what the weather has done, what the forecast is going to do and where we go from there.”

Should Lingfield get the go-ahead, it will break a barren spell for British National Hunt racing, with Hereford the last track to stage turf action on Monday.

Ffos Las has a jumps meeting on Monday
Ffos Las has a jumps meeting on Monday (David Davies/PA)

Saturday’s meetings at Ascot, Haydock and Taunton were all called off due to frozen tracks, while Sunday’s other jumps fixture at Fakenham was also cancelled.

Wolverhampton’s Saturday evening card drew to a close earlier than planned, with fog forcing its abandonment with four races still to run.

Ffos Las is due to race on Monday, with no issues reported at present, but Tuesday’s card at Exeter is subject to a 4pm inspection on Monday.

Leicester and Market Rasen are also scheduled to race over jumps on Tuesday, with both courses currently frozen.

Al Agaila edges victory in Winter Oaks thriller

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Al Agaila brought up a hat-trick when shading a thrilling finish to the talkSPORT Winter Oaks Fillies’ Handicap at Lingfield.

The Simon and Ed Crisford-trained filly made a successful step up to 10 furlongs in the Winter Oaks Trial in December and was sent off the 10-11 favourite to land the feature on the Saturday of the track’s Winter Million weekend.

Settled in fourth by James Doyle, the Classic-winning rider was in no rush to make any significant move in the early stages and then began to squeeze his mount forward as the eight-strong field approached the home turn.

Angled wide, the daughter of Lope De Vega soon breezed into a position to strike, but as the runners straightened for the closing stages, Al Agaila was joined by the William Haggas-trained Morgan Fairy and Harry Eustace’s Makinmedoit – with the three fillies soon locked in a titanic battle to the line.

The trio matched strides all the way up the Lingfield home straight, but it was Doyle who conjured up extra from his mount in the shadow of the post to land the £51,540 first prize.

“We are really delighted with her,” said Simon Crisford. “It was a slowly-run race and she would have benefitted from a stronger pace.

“James Doyle always thought he was going to win and the filly was very tough and courageous. She is improving the whole time – she had to defy an 11lb rise in the weights today and has acquitted herself with great credit.”

The €240,000 buy has now earnt a crack at the Betuk Winter Derby over the same track and trip on February 25 – where opposition could include King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Pyledriver.

“She’s a possibility for the Winter Derby back at Lingfield and we’ll just have to see where the filly takes us,” continued Crisford.

Lingfield Park Races – Saturday January 21, 2023
Al Agaila and jockey James Doyle in the parade ring after winning the talkSPORT Winter Oaks Fillies’ Handicap at Lingfield Park Racecourse (Steven Paston/PA)

“You never know with these fillies where they will take you when they start improving. Right now she’s doing exceptionally well and improving. She has a good attitude and is going the right way. It was a very strong effort and she ran with great credit.

“The Winter Derby, if she goes there, will be a completely different proposition – she’ll be running against Pyledriver and Lord North.

“Let’s see how she copes in a race like that before we start making any summer plans or anything like that.”

Winter Derby-bound Pyledriver still Dwyer’s ride when he returns from injury

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William Muir insists Martin Dwyer will keep the ride on King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Pyledriver once he returns from a knee injury.

A son of Harbour Watch, both the La Pyle Partnership-owned six-year-old and his jockey have been sidelined.

While Dwyer is still undergoing treatment for a torn ACL and has spent the last year out of action, Pyledriver is now nearing his first start since last summer’s victory at Ascot and is being primed to make his comeback in the BetUK Winter Derby at Lingfield next month.

Trained by Muir in partnership with Chris Grassick, Pyledriver was was being prepared for October’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe but suffered a setback that also ruled him out of the Breeders’ Cup.

The February 25 all-weather contest will be a stepping stone for a trip to Meydan for the Dubai Sheema Classic at the end of March.

Muir said: “The timing is perfect for Dubai. That is where we are hoping to go. We are turning the wheel to get there.

“We did the same when we went to Hong Kong in 2021, we went to Lingfield first.

“Yes, the trip is not ideal over a mile and a quarter, but so what? It is a prep race to try and put the finishing touches on. I don’t want to get to Dubai and have to really crank him up there.

“So he will go there and it is a race where he will run well, but you may get some match-fit horses against him.

“But what does it matter? There are going to be other targets throughout the summer and this is the starting point.”

He added: “He is doing everything we are asking of him and we are starting to turn the wheel faster and faster. We will hopefully be in good shape when we get there. Everything seems to be rock and roll.”

Martin Dwyer will resume his partnership once he returns from injury
Martin Dwyer will resume his partnership once he returns from injury (Mike Egerton/PA)

The homebred, who also won the 2021 Coronation Cup and was fourth in last year’s Sheema Classic for the Linkslade yard, will again be partnered by PJ McDonald, who continues to deputise for Muir’s son-in-law.

Muir added: “When Martin is back, Martin will get back on him. PJ understands and Martin understands.

“But there is no question, as long as PJ is around and safe and sound, PJ is keeping the ride on him if Martin is not available.

“Martin needs to have something to look forward to. He has never been out for this length of time, and it’s a tough thing for him.”

Al Agaila on hat-trick trail in Winter Oaks feature

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Al Agaila bids to complete her hat-trick in the talkSPORT Winter Oaks at Lingfield on Saturday.

Following three placed efforts last summer, Simon and Ed Crisford’s filly bolted up when opening her account at Kempton last month before following up in similarly impressive style in the Winter Oaks Trial over this course and distance just before Christmas.

An 11lb hike makes life significantly tougher, but a bold bid can nevertheless be expected in the £100,000 all-weather feature of Lingfield’s Winter Million Festival.

“She went up 11lb for her win last time out, when she won very impressively. She’s an improving filly, but 11lb is a big hike,” said Ed Crisford.

“She has a good draw (stall two). It’s a big step up, but if she can carry the 11lb extra then I’m sure she’s capable of better things.

“She’s potentially an exciting filly.”

The Harry Eustace-trained Makinmedoit was beaten two and a half lengths into second place by Al Agaila little over four weeks ago and does have a significant pull at the weights.

“Makinmedoit has been a star really and just keeps on improving,” said Eustace.

Makinmedoit (red cap) chases home Al Agaila at Lingfield
Makinmedoit (red cap) chases home Al Agaila at Lingfield (Zac Goodwin/PA)

“We’re 10lb better at the weights with the Crisford horse, which probably won’t be enough, but we came from a long way back that day and there’s less runners this time round, which is extraordinary given the prize-money.

“If we could just sit a bit closer, you never know.”

Eustace has a second string to his bow in At A Pinch, who has not run on the Flat since 2021 but is fit from a recent spell over obstacles.

Eustace added: “With At A Pinch, the money was just too good not to roll the dice with her. She was bought to be a hurdler, but she’s got Flat form and there’s no reason why she can’t run a race.

“I was actually looking at the prize-money for Cheltenham the other day and if she was the very best hurdler we had going there, she’d be running for £125,000 added prize-money and she can run for £100,000 added in an eight-runner fillies’ handicap, so we’ll just see how we go.

“It’s extraordinary there’s less runners this time round than for the trial race a month ago. Everyone moans about prize-money, they put it on and no one goes for it, but there we are.”

Another trainer firing a twin assault is Charlie Fellowes, with top-weight Purple Ribbon joined by stablemate Tequilamockingbird.

Purple Ribbon steps back into a fillies’ handicap after finishing second to the highly-rated Belloccio in the Listed Wild Flower Stakes at Kempton in November, while Tequilamockingbird was only a short head behind Makinmedoit when third in the Winter Oaks Trial.

“Purple Ribbon is a very lightly-raced filly, but she’s very consistent. Barring an unfortunate run around Lingfield, she’s not finished out of the first two,” said Fellowes.

“She ran a blinder last time out in a pretty competitive Listed race. She’s got the class in the race, but she has to give weight away to everyone, which will be tough.

“But she’s a pretty good filly and I’ve got no concerns about the drop back to 10 furlong as she’s got plenty of speed, so I’m looking forward to seeing her run.

“Tequilamockingbird is a model of consistency and has a very good record around Lingfield – 10 furlongs around there is literally perfect for her.

“She was a bit unlucky last time out when they went absolutely no gallop and off a stronger pace, she goes in there with a nice each-way squeak.”

Charlie Fellowes is delighted with the prize-money on offer at Lingfield
Charlie Fellowes is delighted with the prize-money on offer at Lingfield (Mike Egerton/PA)

Fellowes was keen to give praise to Lingfield’s owners Arena Racing Company for putting on such huge prize-money at a time when owners are struggling to resist huge offers from abroad.

He added: “You’ve got to give all credit to ARC. It’s prize-money like this that will encourage people to keep horses in training and Tequilamockingbird is a perfect example of that, as she was due to be sold at the mares sale last year and I managed to persuade the owners to remove her from the sale and keep her in training over the winter for a crack at this.

“That is what everyone wants – to see horses kept in training in Britain. We have a fantastic industry and it’s frustrating for a lot of people that the cream of our horses tend to get sold abroad.

“The more of this (prize-money) we can get, the more we can keep horses in training and rebuff these ridiculous offers we’re getting from abroad.

“It’s all down to prize-money and the more money we can offer, the more we can attract our owners to keep horses here and the stronger our industry will be.”

Moore teams up with Boughey quartet as he kicks off British season

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Ryan Moore returns to British action for the first time this year at Lingfield’s Winter Million fixture on Saturday, with four rides for trainer George Boughey.

The leading jockey has enjoyed a well-earned break since riding in Hong Kong last month and Boughey has given him an excellent chance to hit the ground running by providing him with a strong book of rides.

Moore makes his comeback in the opening BetUK’s Acca Club £5 Free Bet Handicap aboard Ehteyat, who carries a 5lb penalty for a comfortable victory at Southwell last Sunday.

Ryan Moore - back in action at Lingfield
Ryan Moore – back in action at Lingfield (Mike Egerton/PA)

The four-year-old is drawn widest of all in stall 10, but Boughey is nevertheless anticipating another bold showing.

He said: “The track probably isn’t to his liking as he’s a big, strong staying type and he’s drawn widest of all, so there’s a few things for Ryan to try to negate.

“But he seems to have come out of Southwell in good shape and the way he hits the line suggests he should stay the two miles pretty well.”

Boughey and Moore team up in the following talkSPORT Powered By Fans Handicap with Pocket The Packet, who has won five times from eight starts since October and gone up 40lb in the ratings as a result.

He is 13lb higher than when triumphing at Lingfield just over a week ago and Boughey admits the handicapper is bound to catch up with him sooner or later.

“I didn’t expect him to do what he did the other day. The race looked to fall apart a bit and he’s got a big hike for winning that,” Boughey added.

“He’s never been a horse that has really expressed himself as an 85-rated horse, but he’s three from three in handicaps at the track and we’ll give it another go.

“He’s a very ordinary work horse – he wouldn’t go past a 50 horse. He’s been a pleasant surprise.”

The Newmarket handler appears more confident about the chances of his final two runners on the card – Paris Lights and All The King’s Men.

Former Jessica Harrington inmate Paris Lights made a successful start for Boughey over the course and distance last month and enters the handicap arena off a mark of 80 in the Huge Daily Boosts Only At BetUK Handicap.

All The King’s Men, meanwhile, is a dual winner in France and makes his debut for the yard in the Spreadex Sports Get £40 In Bonuses Handicap.

Boughey said: “Paris Lights is good and we slightly hoped he’d do what he did on stable debut.

“He was gelded when he came to us and looked good the other day. He looks quite progressive, he’s drawn in the middle and I hope he should run a big race.

“He went up 5lb for his last run and he goes there off a nice mark, I think.

“All The King’s Men was gelded on his arrival at the yard and his work has been good. He’s a half-brother to a Group One performer (Goken), so I think he’s a horse that should give a bold account of himself.

“He’s a horse that will hopefully stay a bit further in time, but this is a nice starting point and his work on the all-weather surfaces at home has been good, so we’re going there in pretty good shape.”

Haddex Des Obeaux decision to be made for Moore

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Gary Moore is pondering his next move with runaway Warwick scorer Haddex Des Obeaux.

The six-year-old opened his account over fences when making all at Doncaster over the Christmas period, and showed improvement when blitzing the opposition from the front off a 6lb higher mark to land the Edward Courage Cup at the weekend.

Haddex Des Obeaux holds an entry for the Godstone Handicap Chase, which was originally due to be run on Friday’s abandoned Lingfield card but has been saved and moved to the Sunday of the track’s Winter Million weekend.

However, having been raised 10lb for his Warwick saunter, the switch has left Moore scratching his head as instead of competing under a 7lb penalty on the original date for the race, the son of Saddex would have to race off his new figure of 146 in the rearranged contest.

He said: “I was very pleased with him and he showed improvement that I didn’t really believe was there.

“I always thought he was a nice horse and my biggest worry was would he act on that testing ground. But the answer to that we found out is he is better on that ground.

“He might have beat a few out of form horses and a few might have underachieved on the day, but I thought he won quite well and he jumped well. He’s only a first-season novice and I was very pleased with him.

“The handicapper has put him up 10lb so he needs to progress again and he’s down to run in what was Friday and is now Sunday – which half mucks me up because if he was to run on Friday he runs with a 7lb penalty, but if he runs on Sunday he has to line up off his new mark which is 10lb higher.

“Whether we run or not it’s something I need to think about and decide on and speak to the owner. He’s come out of the race at Warwick really well, there’s some good prize-money on offer and the only good thing about it is it gives him an extra two days.”

It appears Graded assignments will be handed Haddex Des Obeaux’s way moving forward, with a return to Warwick for the Kingmaker Novices’ Chase and even the Arkle mooted as possible options.

And Moore hopes that further progression from the Olly Harris-owned gelding will see him end the campaign right in the mix with the best of the two-mile division.

“He wasn’t a cheap horse and he could develop hopefully into a decent two mile chaser,” continued Moore.

“The Kingmaker is an option, why wouldn’t you go back there (Warwick). He’s 146 now so handicaps are nearly out of the question.

Wigley Group Classic Chase Day – Warwick Racecourse – Saturday 14th January 2023
Haddex Des Obeaux ridden by Jamie Moore goes on to win The Wigley Support Fund Edward Courage Cup Handicap Chase during the Wigley Group Classic Chase Day at Warwick (Nigel French/PA)

“He’s in the Arkle which if you’d have suggested that two weeks ago I would have said you are crazy – you probably aren’t going to get the ground which improves him at Cheltenham but you never know with this country. Whether we go there or wait for Liverpool I’m not sure.

“He’s going to be running in these races hopefully and there’s nothing better than a good two-mile chaser. It’s probably not the strongest division in Graded races – look at the Clarence House on Saturday, it’s only three runners.”

He added: “He’s got to progress a lot (to reach that level) and I have a lot of respect for the likes of Energumene, Shishkin and Edwardstone – they are very, very good horses.

“He’s got a long way to go to be up with that sort of class but I would love to see him do it for the horse’s sake, the owner and ourselves most of all.”

Cotswold Chase target for Lingfield absentee Noble Yeats

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Grand National hero Noble Yeats is set to be rerouted to the Paddy Power Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham on Saturday week after an administrative error ruled him out of Sunday’s Fleur De Lys Chase at Lingfield.

The Emmet Mullins-trained eight-year-old provided amateur rider Sam Waley-Cohen with a fairytale success in last year’s renewal of the Aintree spectacular, on what proved to be his final ride.

Noble Yeats was pulled up on his reappearance at Auteuil, but has since impressed in winning a Listed prize at Wexford and Aintree’s Many Clouds Chase, with the latter success in particular thrusting him into the Cheltenham Gold Cup picture.

Connections identified the £165,000 Fleur De Lys Chase as a suitable next port of call – but it was confirmed on Tuesday that he will not be able to line up as the horse’s vaccination record is not compliant with the Rules of Racing.

The British Horseracing Authority said in a statement that a change to the rules came into effect this month, following a 12-month transition period to allow trainers to adjust to the changes to the vaccine booster intervals.

Owner Robert Waley-Cohen, however, feels improvements to the entry system could still be made.

He said: “It’s disappointing, but the ground at Lingfield could be awful. They’ve covered what was waterlogged ground because of the frost, which is not a good combination, and they’ve already abandoned racing on Friday, so maybe we’ve dodged a bullet.

“On the other hand, I don’t really understand why the programme is set up in such a way that they don’t advise you that more information is required until the deadline has passed.

Robert Waley-Cohen (right) with Noble Yeats
Robert Waley-Cohen (right) with Noble Yeats (Brian Lawless/PA)

“Whenever you’re making entries, surely it should trigger something to say you need to upload some more information.

“I’ve just got on a flight and when you’re checking in they say you need to input your Covid information and your visa information, then you can select a seat and check-in. They don’t say when you turn up at the door ‘sorry you can’t fly today because you haven’t uploaded your information’.

“I think it’s disappointing that they don’t have a trigger saying ‘thank you for you entry, you need to to give us more information before this entry becomes valid’.

“A great many people are getting caught out with it because obviously vaccination is an ongoing thing and you have to keep on uploading on a regular basis for different horses – and people make administrative errors, that’s why they’re trainers and not businessmen.”

When asked whether he had discussed an alternative plan with Mullins, Waley-Cohen added: “We’ve had lots of chat and I think it’s almost certain that he’ll go to the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham six days later.”

Day one of Lingfield’s Winter Million meeting lost to cold snap

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Day one of Lingfield’s Winter Million weekend on Friday has been abandoned.

With temperatures reaching below minus 6C at the course on Monday night through Tuesday morning, an early bulletin had stressed the track needed fortune to be on their side for the first of their three-day meeting to go ahead – and following a 4.45pm inspection racing was abandoned due to a hard frost with limited improvement and the further poor forecast.

Friday’s card was set to feature the £110,000 Sovereign Handicap Hurdle and the £50,000 Class 2 Godstone Chase – a handicap run over two miles and the British Horseracing Authority and Lingfield have acted quickly to add these two races to Sunday’s fixture.

The final day of the meeting, which also hosts the weekend’s flagship Fleur De Lys Chase, will now be a nine-race card and officials are cautiously optimistic rising temperatures over the weekend will allow both Saturday’s all-weather card and Sunday’s action on the turf to go ahead.

“We’re heavily frozen in places today and the reality is we got to 1C today for about four hours and we’ll have another hard frost tonight and the next couple of nights,” said George Hill, clerk of the course for Lingfield.

“The forecast basically has no chance of improving before Friday so we felt as a team in conjunction with the BHA that the best course of action would be to save the best two races from Friday and put them on Sunday to make that a nine-race card.

“We’ll obviously need improvement in the forecast, but at least there is scope for the forecast to improve on Saturday into Sunday, where we kind of know what the forecast is for the next 48 to 72 hours – we’re fairly confident what that forecast is.”

He continued: “It gives us the best chance of saving as many races in the current situation we are faced with and the latest challenge of the weather.

“If we can manage to get Sunday on and Saturday’s all-weather Flat card as well, which will be a good day, then at least it will be a decent nine-race card with a hell of a lot of prize-money up for grabs. It’s not really what we wanted but it’s the best of the bad situation we are in.”

Meanwhile officials at Ascot have admitted the change in forecast “may present some challenges” in being able to stage Saturday’s card – which is headlined by the LK Bennett Clarence House Chase.

Temperatures dropped as low as minus 6C on Monday night through to Tuesday morning and clerk of the course Chris Stickles has indicated a changing forecast suggests the cold weather may now extend into the weekend.

He said: “The going remains soft, good to soft in places on the chase track and good to soft, soft in places on the hurdles course. We’re obviously frozen on both courses in places this morning following minus 6C overnight and temperatures are still below freezing now.

“The forecast now indicates that this cold spell could last into the weekend, so it has changed since yesterday. So that may present some challenges.

“Temperatures aren’t due to get much above 4C on any given day and we’re still below freezing at the moment. Its not likely to get as cold as it did last night again currently, but although it’s not forecast to get as cold as it did last night it does look like sub-zero temperatures each night.

“We’ll continue to monitor and update accordingly.”

Haydock are also “50-50” to stage their Saturday fixture where the use of frost covers may not be enough to save the Peter Marsh Chase card.

Ground staff out on the track in the fog and frost to prepare the track before a previous meeting at Haydock Park
Ground staff out on the track in the fog and frost to prepare the track before a previous meeting at Haydock Park (John Giles/PA)

“I would say we are 50-50 realistically,” said clerk of the course Kirkland Tellwright. “We were minus 3C last night and we’ve got several more nights to get through.

“Frost covers are down but they will have their work cut out on the worn ground. There is no sign of any sun today for instance. It’s just above zero but we’ve got fog pretty much slowing down any thawing activity out there.

“We’ll just have to play it as it comes. We would very much like to race and will do everything we can.”

Freezing temperatures have already took their toll on the week’s racing programme with Chepstow on Tuesday and Newbury on Wednesday abandoned due to frost.

Newcastle have taken the decision to abandon for Thursday following an inspection late on Tuesday afternoon due to a hard frost and a minimal opportunity in the forecast for conditions to improve.

Plumpton will stage a second inspection at 8.30am ahead of their meeting on Wednesday.

Frost covers are down but it reached minus 6C on Monday night. However, Tuesday evening was not set to be as cold with -2C forecast and officials are hopeful of racing.

Officials at Ludlow have announced a precautionary inspection for 9am on Wednesday ahead of the track’s scheduled Thursday fixture, while Wincanton inspect at 8am on Thursday ahead of their Somerset National card later that day.