Ascot expecting 40-50mm of rain before Saturday's jumps fixture and Lingfield monitoring Storm Ciaran

Ascot is expecting 40-50mm of rain over the next two days as Storm Ciaran hits the south of England before the track’s jumps meeting on Saturday.

The going is good to soft, soft in places at the Berkshire course, with high winds of 50-60mph forecast on Thursday, and potentially further rain on raceday.

Clerk of the course Chris Stickels said: “It’s going to be soft ground, and with the forecast as it is, you can’t rule out heavy ground being a possibility. It will depend on the volume of rain and what we receive on Saturday.”

Lingfield stages a jumps meeting on Thursday, with Storm Ciaran forecast to bring 15-20mm of rain on Wednesday night. The going is good to soft, good in places on the chase course and good to soft, soft in places on the hurdle course.

Clerk of the course Stephanie Wethered said: “We remain very hopeful but will be keeping a close eye on the forecast. The track is in a decent place to take the rain although it depends just how much arrives. High winds are expected on Wednesday night, with gusts of up to 50mph, so we will have to see how the storm affects us.”

Nottingham's Wednesday card failed to pass a 3pm inspection on Tuesday with the track waterlogged and further rain forecast. Friday's jumps fixture at Ffos Las and Redcar's Flat meeting next Tuesday have succumbed to waterlogging, with Chelmsford staging an additional meeting on Tuesday.

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