No British jump racing on Sunday as cards lost to cold snap

There will be no jumps action in Britain on Sunday after both Plumpton and Chepstow called off their cards due to frozen tracks.

Frost covers were put down at Plumpton earlier in the week ahead of a card that was due to feature the Sussex National, but clerk of the course Marcus Waters called a precautionary inspection for Saturday lunchtime.

That check showed an area of the course to be unraceable and with another cold night in prospect, Waters felt it best to make an early decision.

He said: “We got down to -2C at sunrise today and there are a few areas of frozen ground remain now.

“We are forecast -4C overnight and are not due to get up to freezing or 1C until 11 or 12pm tomorrow, so we have no chance of sufficient improvement before racing and felt it best to make a decision today.”

Chepstow faced a similar situation with a noon inspection ahead of a planned seven-race card.

Clerk of the course Dai Jones said: “The track is frozen in places and we are forecast -3C or -4C overnight, with longer periods at that kind of temperature and quite a slow morning tomorrow.

“We went down to -2.8C last night and it’s going to be colder tonight and tomorrow.

“We aren’t expected to get up above freezing until 10.30 or 11am so just with that shorter window, it’s not going to improve really.”

There will be Flat action at Southwell, with the British Horseracing Authority adding the all-weather fixture earlier in the week in light of the forecast weather.

Monday’s National Hunt cards at Lingfield and Ludlow will have to survive initial inspections on Sunday if they are to go ahead.

Officials at Ludlow will inspect at 10am while Lingfield will assess conditions at noon.

Tuesday will also be a blank jumps day as Musselburgh’s fixture has already been called off, with the track found to be frozen following an inspection with no prospect of sufficient improvement in the next few days. All-weather cards are due to take place at Southwell and Wolverhampton.

Saturday’s card at Wincanton was abandoned following a third inspection at 11.30am, but both Sandown and Cork passed their morning checks and racing went ahead as planned.

Wincanton’s first race was scheduled for 12.27pm and a statement from the track, posted on X, said: “The temperatures have not risen as quickly as forecast and as a result track conditions have not improved as we had hoped.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the late decision however we wanted to give the fixture every chance of taking place.

“We are all disappointed by this outcome, but the safety of our participants will always take priority.”