Wincanton set for Henrietta Knight's return after passing morning inspection

Friday's meeting at Wincanton, set to feature the return of trainer Henrietta Knight after an 11-and-a-half-year hiatus, will go ahead as planned after the track passed a morning inspection.

Officials called for an 8.30am inspection due to cold temperatures, but the ground was frost-free on Friday morning.

The going for the seven-race meeting, where Knight saddles Zettabyte (1.30) and Ballywalter (3.00), remains good to soft, with the first race due off at 1.00. 

Naas stages the rescheduled Grade 1 Lawlor's of Naas Novice Hurdle card on Friday, with an intriguing clash between Ile Atlantique and Firefox in the feature race (1.42).

Ground conditions have been changed to soft, yielding in places on the hurdle track (from soft, soft to heavy in places on the Chase course).

Clerk of the course Brendan Sheridan said: "After a frustrating day on Sunday, thankfully there's no frost or fog. We've had a dry few days since entry and the ground has come back a little. We're in a good place and all good to go."

There are no problems reported for Huntingdon's meeting on Friday, with the ground good to soft, soft in places.

The Cambridgeshire track passed an inspection on Monday to assess the damage done to the track and fences after the nearby Alconbury Brook burst its banks last week.

The fixture features the Chatteris Fen Juvenile Hurdle (2.05) and will be the first time Huntingdon has raced since November 25, with the track having lost last month's flagship Peterborough Chase day and its fixture last week to flooding.

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