Cheltenham Racecourse has cancelled the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase scheduled for November 13 due to unraceable ground, rescheduling the race for Festival Trials Day on January 30.
The long, dry summer and continued lack of rain has plunged England into drought, causing particular challenges at jumps courses aiming to provide safe ground. It has impacted the schedule at a number of tracks, including last weekend when the three-day Welsh Racing Festival at Chepstow featured no races over fences.
Resources focused on Old Course
Cheltenham is set to open for its first fixture of the season on October 23 and 24, but on Friday announced a change to its second meeting with the cancellation of the Cross Country Chase due to firm ground conditions.
A Jockey Club statement said: “Following an exceptionally dry summer and unseasonably warm temperatures, the Cross Country course has been unable to be irrigated while resources have been focused on preparing the Old Course to provide safe ground for racing at The Showcase (23rd and 24th October).”
Rescheduled for January
The statement added: “The forecast suggests that dry conditions are likely to continue, with insufficient rainfall expected to achieve safe conditions on the Cross Country course in time for The November Meeting.”
The Cross Country Chase has been rescheduled for Festival Trials Day on Saturday 30th January, creating an eight-race card. A replacement race will be found for the November 13 card.
Jon Pullin, clerk of the course at Cheltenham, said: “It is always disappointing to lose any race or fixture, and the team have worked incredibly hard in very challenging conditions to get the Old Course ready for racing next week.”
Early decision to help participants
Pullin continued: “Given the exceptionally dry summer, which has continued into the early autumn, our priority has had to be ensuring the Old Course is ready. The forecast suggests that there is limited rainfall expected in the coming weeks and warm temperatures are set to continue, meaning our attention will need to remain on the Old Course in the lead-up to The November Meeting.
“We wanted to take the decision to cancel the Cross Country Chase as early as possible to allow participants time to adjust their plans.”
He added: “Unfortunately, we have already lost a number of fixtures across the country due to the challenging conditions. In discussions with the BHA and the NTF, we recognise that this may continue over the next couple of weeks.
“Therefore, there may be races that need rescheduling that could be accommodated at The November Meeting so we will confirm the replacement race by Friday 30th October.”
