Sandown warns runners will face 'very wet ground' on Saturday

Sandown’s seven-race card on Saturday, which features the Grade 1 Virgin Bet Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase, will be run on extremely testing going.

Although having “no immediate concerns”, the meeting could be under threat. Clerk of the course Andrew Cooper emphasised the ground in the home straight was “very wet”.

The official going descriptions are soft, heavy in places on the chase course, and heavy, soft in places on the hurdles track, with the best of the ground being found down the back straight.

“We’ve had six millimetres of rain this morning,” Cooper said at lunchtime on Friday. “It started at 4am and was heaviest at around 7am. It’s been drizzling ever since.

“The outlook is basically dry. There is a bit of drizzle forecast, but in no quantity. It’s forecast to be cloudy and overcast.”

There was concern earlier in the week the meeting could be lost and Cooper added: “Wednesday and Thursday were dry days and they helped hugely. It’s very wet ground up the home straight, but I don’t have any immediate concerns.”

The going is officially good to soft for the start of Musselburgh’s two-day meeting, which features the ITV-televised bet365 Scottish Champion Chase, but it could ride a bit softer.

Musselburgh clerk of the course Bill Farnsworth said: “The ground is good to soft, but it’s close to the soft side of good to soft. We put a bit of water on the track on Thursday and it’s definitely softer today than it was yesterday.

“The forecast is mainly dry right through until the end of Sunday’s fixture, so I don’t think conditions will change very much.”

The recent wet spell which led to the cancellation of this week’s jumps meetings at Hereford, Exeter, Leicester and Ffos Las appears to have ended, and the forecast for the next week or so is mainly dry weather, with overnight temperatures well above freezing.

Leopardstown has had 43mm (1.7in) of rain in the last week, which has turned the going on the hurdles track to soft and the chase track to yielding. More spells of rain overnight into Sunday could bring a further 4-6mm. Temperatures of around 9C are expected on both days.

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