Epsom watering continues as site prepares to host 4,000 per day for Classics

The final mile of the track at Epsom was the focus of attention on Tuesday morning with officials watering for a second successive day before the two-day Derby festival kicks off on Friday.

Having applied 5mm to other areas, including from the Derby start to the eight-furlong pole on Monday, the remainder of the track received a similar soaking from irrigation that began at 6am to maintain the ground at good, good to firm in places.

As well as looking after the track, clerk of the course Andrew Cooper will oversee the completion of a perimeter fence around the track in time for Cazoo Oaks day on Friday to keep the public off the inside of the track as part of Covid-19 regulations.

He said: “Just like last year, we are unable to have spectators in the middle of track for the Derby festival but hopefully they’ll be back for 2022. There will be a perimeter fence which is part installed at the moment and gets completed on Friday.

"Our local permission to close the site is from midnight on Thursday until close of play on Saturday when it can be enforceable."

Rather than crowds of 100,000 that it has attracted in pre-Covid years, Derby day will host just a fraction of that.

Cooper added: “We are working to a figure of 4,000 racegoers per day for a venue of our size, which is in keeping with government guidelines. No-one can just turn up as they all have either pre-booked or pre-registered, but I’m sure it will be better than last year when no-one was here.”

Andrew Cooper: 'No-one can just turn up as they all have either pre-booked or pre-registered'Credit: Edward Whitaker

On the watering situation, he said: “A marquee contractor covered one of the hydrants that we needed to use for the first time this morning, which was a bit of a nuisance, but we got around that and we’ve watered the last mile today, which is the only part of the course that we didn’t do yesterday.

"We started at around 6am this morning putting on 5mm and we’ll see what that does and go from there. Having walked it earlier, for the time being I’ll be leaving the ground as good, good to firm in places.”

On the weather he added: “We are expected to get up to 23C today but Epsom is someway above sea level and we often get a bit of a breeze that takes the edge off the temperatures. It’s going to be a warm drying day as expected.”

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