Navan has cancelled next Tuesday's flat card due to a waterlogged track.
Clerk of the course Paddy Graffin said on Friday afternoon: "Due to the track being unfit for racing at entry stage yesterday, and with the volumes of rain continuing to fall, I felt it was right to walk Navan this afternoon, ahead of my mandatory 48-hour inspection on Sunday.
"Unfortunately, since entries yesterday morning,. we've had another 13mm of rain and 95% of the track is unfit for flat racing. In fact, following further rain overnight, this track would not even be suitable for National Hunt racing today.
"So, with 38mm of rain this week so far, and the possibility of at least another 10-15mm forecast, and a particularly bad day on Monday, the track is not going to have sufficient time to recover and we are making the call early to cancel the fixture scheduled for Tuesday.
"It is a disappointing decision to make but not a difficult one in the current conditions. The team at Navan are speaking with Horse Racing Ireland regarding the rescheduling of this meeting."
Wexford lost
Following an inspection on Friday morning and a further 17mm of rain overnight, the track at Wexford remains unfit for racing and the fixture scheduled for today, Friday, was cancelled.
Paul Moloney, IHRB Clerk of the Course at Wexford said: “The additional rain has brought us 33mm since entries and unfortunately we’re in the same situation where we have no choice but to cancel today’s fixture.”
There will be a 7.30am inspection at the Curragh on Saturday and a 7.30am inspection at Downpatrick on Sunday, ahead of the fixtures scheduled to take place at those tracks.
Brendan Sheridan, IHRB Clerk of the Course at The Curragh said: Following a further 6.5mm of rain overnight, The Curragh remains heavy and fit for racing. Having spoken with Met Éireann this morning, there is the possibility of a further 8-11mm of rain between now and 5.35pm tomorrow.
“However, we are also faced with the prospect of Storm Kathleen which has the potential to bring high gusts of wind through tomorrow. On the basis of the forecast for further rain, we will have a 7.30am inspection on Saturday morning to assess if the track remains fit for racing.
“Should the track remain fit for racing at that point, we will continue to monitor the situation and consult with Met Éireann in relation to the high winds.”
Brian Hamilton, IHRB Clerk of the Course at Downpatrick said: “Following 20mm of rain overnight, Downpatrick is unfit for racing due to parts of the track being waterlogged.
“In total we've had 40mm of rain since Monday at the track and due to that volume of rain, we will have a 7.30am inspection on Sunday morning to determine if racing can go ahead.
“Prior to racing we could have another 5-7mm of rain, however, there is high winds forecast for tomorrow and hopefully they will prove favourable for us. Where raceable the ground is heavy.”
British update
Only Lingfield and Musselburgh have survived in Britain on Friday, the meetings at Wetherby and Fontwell having been lost.
Saturday’s Premier fixture at Kelso are the latest to fall foul of the persistent wet spell.
Unfortunately for Kelso, where the £100,000 Herring Queen Series Final Mares’ Novices’ Handicap Hurdle was the feature on a valuable card, heavy rain overnight left the course unraceable and more is forecast.
Clerk of the course Matthew Taylor said: “Unfortunately we’ve had a further 12mm overnight and it has left us unraceable.
“We had 22mm yesterday but then we had some improvement which was significant but this further 12mm has set us back quite a way. Up to 50 per cent of the track is waterlogged.
“It has just stopped raining by 8am and it is a bit breezy but we’ve got random sporadic showers forecast this afternoon which will be heavy and there’s a further rain band coming in Friday night and into Saturday morning.
“That wouldn’t give us enough time to do the work needed so we’ve had to abandon. We’re really sorry, we were desperate to get it on as a Premier raceday but we just can’t guarantee the integrity of the structure of the surface underneath.”
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