'There won't be a frost sheet on the planet that can save us' - tracks concerned about next week's freezing forecast

A forecast cold snap next week could bring bitter winds, snow, sleet and further frosts to much of Britain and threatens to bring jump racing to a halt.

Ascot and Haydock are already preparing to protect their Clarence House and Peter Marsh fixtures on January 20, but Haydock clerk of the course Kirkland Tellwright said: "If it's as bad as is forecast I don't think there's any amount of protection on the planet that'd save us."

The Met Office's long-range forecast is predicting the north of Britain in particular will bear the brunt of "brisk northerly winds likely developing widely across most of the UK, bringing a risk of snow showers and a marked wind chill, especially in the north".

The report added: "There is risk of unsettled weather pushing in from the south through this period, which could lead to a band of snow and sleet where it meets the colder air across the country." 

Quite when this will hit is harder to predict. "Confidence is low with regards the timing of the arrival of any such disturbance," said the Met Office, and Ascot's clerk of the course Chris Stickels said forecasts do vary, but both tracks hosting Premier fixtures next Saturday are taking no chances.

Haydock faces perhaps the least favourable forecast, and Tellwright added: "From this weekend we'll have sheeted up all our most obvious areas in order to be ahead of the game. The problem we've got is we're not talking about fresh ground, and we've areas of the track that are permanently in the shade at this stage of winter.

"But we know what experience tells us is necessary, so we are sheeting our back straight and the take-offs and landings of all of our fences. If we get two inches of snow there won't be a frost sheet on the planet that can save us."

Ascot will cover all vulnerable areas on Friday, a week ahead of its Clarence House Chase meetingCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Ascot's clerk of the course Chris Stickels also plans to put frost covers down on vulnerable areas from Friday and is monitoring the forecast until the outlook becomes clearer, with the two different models Ascot uses varying wildly in their prediction for next week.

He said: "We've got varying forecasts, the European and American models differ greatly. One is forecasting cold weather, the other doesn't expect it to be too bad after Monday.

"We've the threat of some sleet, rain or snow on Wednesday, but at the moment it's very unclear so we'll monitor both. They couldn't be more different: one indicates it could be 4C come next Friday and Saturday, the other says -4C, so it's a massive variation and it's impossible to read at the moment."

Stickels will err on the side of caution, however, and added: "We're covering vulnerable areas on Friday, the shade under the grandstand and the take-offs and landings, and then we'll take a view as to what the forecast is suggesting as the picture becomes more clear – and then we can make a decision as to whether we cover the remainder of the track – but we'll cover the vulnerable areas this Friday."

Next week's other Premier track, Lingfield, which hosts its three-day Winter Million festival Friday through Sunday – with the Friday and Sunday as Premier racedays and the Saturday as the year's first morning fixture – has a similar forecast, and clerk of the course Stephanie Wethered said: "Our forecast is giving us a real range at the moment, so I don't know what we'll get, but I remain hopeful.

"We won't put covers down this weekend, but we're looking at fleecing the vulnerable areas, if not the whole track, early next week. The all-weather is still vulnerable to colder weather if frost gets into the surface itself, so we will also monitor it carefully if the cold snap does materialise."

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