Kempton and Bangor call precautionary inspections for Friday

Both Bangor and Kempton have called precautionary inspections for 8am ahead of their Friday meetings.

Kempton is due to host an eight-race card and Bangor has seven contests scheduled, both under the National Hunt code with a healthy number of runners.

Kempton was good to soft on Thursday afternoon and Bangor soft, but after a slightly milder start to the week the forecast predicts much colder temperatures approaching the weekend.

Doncaster’s Thursday meeting was abandoned due to frozen ground following a third morning inspection, and staff at both Bangor and Kempton will take an early look at conditions after what could be another cold night.

Paddy Chester, general manager of Bangor, said: “It’s absolutely gorgeous at the moment and we’re pretty hopeful for the morning.

“Temperatures got down quite low last night to about minus 4C, and tonight we’re probably expecting more like minus 1C or minus 2C.

“We’ve called a precautionary inspection for first thing, but we’d be pretty hopeful that we’d be giving the go-ahead in the morning.

“All the road crossings and take offs and landings have been covered, anywhere that’s a bit exposed and hasn’t got a decent covering of grass on it.

“They’ve been down for over 24 hours now and they won’t be lifted until we’re certain that it’s above freezing tomorrow, then hopefully we’ll be good to go.”

Barney Clifford, clerk of the course at Kempton, also said: “We’re drying a little bit today, we were minus 3C in air temperature overnight.

“This morning we were raceable at 11 o’clock. It’s a pretty unpredictable forecast overnight, there’s an easterly wind with showers that could be sleet or could be snow.

“With that in mind we have decided to have an precautionary inspection, take offs, landing and vulnerable areas are all covered with the frost covers.”