THE racing calendar continues to take a hammering from the weather with a further cancellation announced on Friday along with two new replacement flat fixture dates.

Two of last weekend’s three fixtures were called off due to waterlogging and the trend continued when this weekend’s two-day Bellewstown fixture was lost midweek. A Dundalk card was quickly scrambled for this evening and Naas will stage a replacement jumps meeting on Tuesday.

But although the weather has improved in recent days conditions at both Gowran Park and Clonmel were described as unraceable at time of entry ahead of their scheduled meetings next Wednesday and Thursday. Next Saturday’s flat card at Limerick has already been cancelled.

Yesterday Horse Racing Ireland announced the Curragh would step into the slot vacated by Limerick next Saturday, meaning a two-day meeting for the Curragh next weekend. With no flat racing taking place during the upcoming Punchestown Festival, Navan has to wait until Tuesday, May 7th, to stage a replacement meeting for the card they lost last Tuesday.

Ryan McElligott, chief executive of the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association, said: “The National Hunt fraternity have had to deal with quite a few cancellations, and I don’t wish to make light of the impact the wet weather has had on the jumps season, but the start of the turf flat season has been severely disrupted. We’ve had one flat turf meeting this week and more cancellations likely. Punchestown is coming up and there is no flat racing that week.

“In particular we have lost a lot of sprints. Trainers who have a high proportion of sprinters in their yard are in a bad way. It’s very hard to make any sort of plan for your early season flat string.

Kilbeggan is due to start its season with a two-day meeting on April 25th-26th and confirmation of the racecourse’s plans is expected next week, as the race committee is still coming to terms with the sudden death of track manager Paddy Dunican last weekend. Downpatrick, which failed to race last Sunday, is seeking a new National Hunt date.

Point-to-points

The situation in point-to-points is arguably more acute as handlers are under pressure to run four-year-olds and get them sold ahead of the store sales, and the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee [INHSC] insists that the season must conclude at the end of May.

Upcoming meetings at Moira (Co Down) and Tralee (North Kerry) were called off in the past couple of days, and new meetings at Loughanmore (East Antrim, two dates), Curraghmore (Waterford) and Taylorstown (Newry) scheduled.

John Nallen, whose ‘Minella’ horses are a staple in point-to-points, said: “The INHSC should give a commitment that there is going to be seven or eight more meetings before the season ends, so we all know where we stand. Put them on midweek, if needs be. The industry will come up with the funds for ‘industry’ meetings where there might not be many racegoers. I have been saying for years that an emergency fund should be established for these situations.

“I understand one hunt was told they could not reschedule their cancelled meeting on a Wednesday because the INHSC could not provide staff. That’s not good enough.

“Now the North Kerry meeting at Tralee has been cancelled but that is a vacant track and they could probably stage up to three meetings in May. Curraghmore is another venue that could probably race twice next month.”

Ray Bergin, point-to-point operations manager with the IHRB, said: “We are definitely going to put on replacement meetings. It’s a bit more complicated than for racecourses as hunt committees need early access to the point-to-point course so they can prepare them. That hasn’t been possible in many cases. Also, point-to-points often use multiple fields linked by gateways and there needs to be an ability to move medical provisions around the entire course for gateways.”

Asked if there was a difficulty in staging replacement meetings midweek, Bergin said: “We can staff them, no problem, but it can be difficult for hunt committees to find volunteers and medical teams midweek.”

He said all three scheduled meetings this weekend are expected to go ahead.

Upcoming racedates

Apr 13 Dundalk

Apr 14 Down Royal

Apr 16 Naas

Apr 17 Gowran Park

Apr 18 Clonmel

Apr 19 Ballinrobe

Apr 20 Curragh

Apr 21 Curragh

Apr 21 Tramore

Apr 22 Tramore