'We need a miracle but I'm not sure it's coming' - more fixtures likely to fall

The frost that has swept over Britain and Ireland laid waste to Saturday's racing looks certain to claim more meetings in the coming days, with almost all racecourses due to race currently frozen in places.

The John Durkan Chase card at Punchestown on Sunday has been cancelled and Cork’s Hilly Way Chase card is subject to an inspection at 8am.

Punchestown’s manager, Richie Galway, said: “Our hope had been to reschedule to Tuesday but the forecast isn’t set to improve so it would be pointless. We’ll meet with the HRI fixtures committee but it would be our hope to hold the meeting before Christmas.”

Carlisle's Sunday fixture has already been lost to the frost and Sunday could become, like Saturday, a day of all-weather-only action, with Southwell due to inspect at 9.30am and clerk of the course David Attwood admitting they need "a little bit of luck".

He said: "We've had some light frost, which has come out during the day. We'd have been raceable today. The covers have done a good job all week. We've had three nights of frost now and we'll have another tonight.

"We'll take a look tomorrow at 9.30am. My only concern is the temperatures don't look like they're coming up as much as the last two or three days and we could do with a little bit of luck to go our way.

Frost covers couldn't prevent the abandonment of racing at CheltenhamCredit: Edward Whitaker

"We'll make the decision as early as we can to try to be fair to everyone, but we have to give the track the best chance we can to get racing on. We're stuck between a rock and a hard place, but we'll give it every chance and be as fair to people as we can.

"I'm hopeful but we could just do with that bit of luck with temperatures tonight."

Sunday is a busy day for British inspections, with Market Rasen – where it is soft, frozen in places – and Plumpton – which has "a small amount of frost in the ground" – inspecting at midday and 12.30pm respectively for their Monday fixtures.

First, though, will be Newcastle. After its all-weather Saturday meeting was abandoned just half an hour before the first race was due off, there will be an inspection at the track at 7.30am on Sunday to see if the day's racing can go ahead on the Tapeta.

Market Rasen clerk of the course Jack Pryor said: "We've called the inspection to see if the frost comes out of the ground any further, but we're facing an uphill challenge based on the forecast."

Plumpton clerk of the course Marcus Waters said on Saturday he was "hopeful" racing would go ahead and added: "We have a small amount of frost in the ground but temperatures are meant to get to 3C today with some quite bright sunshine, so the frost should be out before the evening.

"We have another cold night tonight, with -4C forecast, and tomorrow doesn't look as warm. It's only meant to get to 2C, so that's why we've called the inspection. For Sunday night into Monday temperatures are slightly warmer, -1C, and it should get above freezing by 9am or 10am on raceday. If there's no frost in the ground by the end of the day on Sunday we'd be quite hopeful."

The theme of inspecting a day early continues on Monday with Catterick, where it is good to soft, frozen in places, due to inspect at 8am for its fixture on Tuesday.

Wincanton, which is also due to race on Tuesday, has not yet called an inspection but clerk of the course Daniel Cooper has given the going description as a fairly telling "frozen".

Catterick clerk of the course Fiona Needham said on Saturday: "We were raceable on Friday but we got -4C overnight and we're not raceable today. Originally Monday/Tuesday was meant to be the turning point, but it doesn't look that way on the forecast anymore, so we're hoping for a miracle but I'm not sure it's going to come. It's not looking very hopeful."

Wincanton's Cooper said: "We're not off yet. We'll announce an inspection time tomorrow for, most likely, early on raceday morning. I'd call it 50-50 at the moment. Daytime temperatures are rising and we're defrosting. It's 4C right now but we're forecast -4C to -6C tonight. So it improves, then worsens again significantly, and we'll see where that leaves us on Tuesday morning."

On Wednesday turf racing is scheduled to take place at Newbury, where frost covers are already down, and on Thursday there are jumps meetings at Exeter and Ffos Las, while on Friday jump racing could come from Ascot and Uttoxeter.

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