Dry and warm weather playing havoc with Irish jumps season as Gordon Elliott warns of 'huge backlog' of horses waiting to run

An unprecedented dry spell featuring record temperatures has left Irish trainers and racecourses facing a similarly challenging situation to their counterparts in Britain, with Gordon Elliott warning the weather is creating a backlog of runners.

It has been an exceptionally dry start to November in Ireland, following little rain in the second half of October, triggering a flood of non-runners including 22 no-shows across the cards at Gowran Park and Naas last weekend.

Thurles, the spiritual home of midweek jump racing in Ireland, has yet to stage a National Hunt card this season after three of ITS fixtures were lost because of quick ground. The fixture scheduled for Thursday is the latest to be abandoned after failing an inspection on Monday morning.