Doncaster's November Handicap meeting cancelled after torrential rain

Saturday's November Handicap meeting at Doncaster has been cancelled after the racecourse failed an inspection on Friday morning.

Clerk of the course Roderick Duncan said on Thursday that they needed a "minor miracle" for the Flat finale to go ahead after South Yorkshire was hit with torrential rain and flooding.

The inspection was brought forward after further rain through the night and the decision was made to cancel the meeting with the track waterlogged with standing water in places.

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Duncan said: "Doncaster and most of South Yorkshire was hit with torrential rain throughout yesterday and the racecourse has suffered as the rest of the town has.

"We have standing water right across the track and the forecast of further rainfall gives us little opportunity for enough of an improvement to think we can get the card on."

On Friday 118 flood warnings were in place nationally with a number of those for the River Don, which runs just a mile from the course.

Duncan added: "We had 60mm of rain yesterday and have now had 84mm since and including November 1. The roads are closed all around the racecourse through flooding."

The BHA has announced the Listed Gillies Fillies' Stakes, which was one of the casualties of the November Handicap card, will instead be run at Lingfield on Saturday, November 16.

Entries for the race close at midday on Monday, November 11, with declarations at 10am on Thursday, November 14.

BHA head of racing Paul Johnson said: "We are pleased to be able to reschedule the Gillies Fillies' Stakes. Unfortunately no realistic option was available to retain the November Handicap, and there is an alternative option in the race programme for horses that were engaged in the Wentworth Stakes."

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Trainer David Griffiths is based just a few miles south of Doncaster in Bawtry, but reported his yard has been largely unaffected by the downpour and that it will be business as usual for the most part.

He said: "It's very wet! We can still use our gallop and the water hasn't gone into any of the boxes in the yard, but it is very high.

"We'll crack on and get the horses out still because we're lucky enough to be able to keep riding them out, but the bad weather does make life a lot more difficult.

"It's totally saturated the whole yard and gallop but you've just got to crack on and get on with it."

The cancelled November Handicap meeting comes two weeks after Doncaster was also forced to cancel Vertem Futurity day.

The course's next scheduled meeting is on Friday, November 29 and sees the return of jumps racing to the track.

As a result of the lost card, ITV has announced it will now be showing an additional two races from Aintree with the card rearranged at the Merseyside venue.

The 2m4f handicap chase, originally scheduled for 2.40, will now go off at 2.05, while the other two races chosen to be aired will be the 2m handicap chase and 3m½f handicap hurdle, which is a qualifier for the Pertemps Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Those races at Aintree will complement four from Wincanton, including two Grade 2s and the Badger Beers Silver Trophy.

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