Northern trainers getting all het up over deep freeze
TENSIONS are simmering over the lack of opportunities for northern-trained National Hunt horses.
And handlers have urged the sport’s rulers to reschedule meetings lost to the weather.
Catterick joined Wincanton on the casualty list ahead of today’s action, with the cold snap to blame.
Their demise took the total of abandonments in the UK this month to 20 – and the weather woes are not over yet.
Wetherby and Fakenham, due to host meetings tomorrow, have frozen areas on the turf that have to improve in time.
Huntingdon, Uttoxeter, Fontwell, Sedgefield and Newcastle are also battling the elements for their fixtures in the next seven days.
Leading Scottish trainer Nick Alexander lost the chance to run seven horses yesterday at Kelso, where temperatures dipped to -3C.
Two more had been eliminated from races that were oversubscribed.
“It’s so frustrating,” he said. “I would say we have lost 25 to 30 of our runners this month and we have around 45 horses in training. They are big days for us.”
Alexander is venturing south to run Lake View Lad in Saturday’s Grade Two Paddy Power “45 Sleeps To Cheltenham” Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham, an event currently surviving the big freeze.
But he hopes the British Horseracing Authority will take action on his local patch. “Owners can’t go racing due to Covid19 restrictions and it’s disappointing when their horses can’t run,” he added. “Jumpers’ bumpers are a quick stop-gap but they are not the answer.” Middleham trainer Ben Haslam (inset) also had to scrap his plans for Kelso, which would have seen season hat-trick seeker Rock On Fruity take his place on the lorry.
“I’ve had about a dozen horses ready to run this month but there have been no races for them,” he said.
“Our biggest problem is the lack of rescheduling of turf fixtures.”
The BHA added several all-weather cards for National Hunt horses, known as ‘jumpers bumpers,’ to compensate for January’s interrupted programme.
A spokesperson said race planners are currently evaluating their options.