Saturday’s crucial card is in danger of being called off after the clerk of course calls an inspection for Friday afternoon
Cheltenham’s Trials card on Saturday, due to be the final action at the track before the Festival meeting in March, is in serious doubt due to waterlogging after 45mm of rain at the course since Tuesday, with an inspection of the course scheduled for 2pm on Friday.
Paisley Park, the hugely popular 2019 Stayers’ Hurdle winner, and the former Gold Cup winner Native River were among the big names expected to line up on Saturday’s seven-race card, which includes four Grade Two contests and a competitive Grade Three handicap. The course also lost its New Year’s Day fixture earlier this month, and has not been forced to abandon both its January cards since 1996.
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Fakenham 12.53 Imperial Nemesis 1.23 Tonyx 1.55 Golden Whisky 2.28 Shantung 3.00 Barden Bella 3.35 Midnight Glance 4.05 Madera Mist
“We’ve a much more congested pecking order this year,” Mark Bird, Ireland’s senior handicapper for two-year-olds, told Wednesday’s BHA press conference to reveal the juvenile classification for 2020, which was a polite way to say that after two seasons with an outstanding two-year-old colt, the latest generation does not – as yet – have an obvious champion.
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