Ascot racecourse had little option but to abandon their Saturday jumps fixture, that was set to headlined by the Grade One Clarence House Chase, with the track frozen on Thursday afternoon.
Ascot Abandoned: Clarence House Chase Card On Saturday Falls To The Cold Weather
Horse racing fans were looking forward to a heavyweight 2m chase clash between El Fabiolo and Jonbon – who are propping up the market with the best UK horse racing betting sites for the Champion Chase.
However, the Festival-bound duo won’t be in action this Saturday with Ascot having to call off their BetMGM-sponsored card on Thursday due to a FROZEN TRACK.
Track officials at Ascot inspected the Berkshire course at 4pm on Thursday, which was two days before their Saturday meeting, which led punters to think it wasn’t a good sign.
Those doubts proved right as it didn’t take look for the course to announce via their ‘X’ (Twitter) page that the Clarence House Chase Card on Saturday had succumbed to the cold spell sweeping the country.
Ascot Called Off With Frozen Track Due To -6C Temperatures
The track went on to say they had -6C temperatures on Wednesday night and despite the covers down, this resulted in frozen ground in places since Tuesday.
With the weather prospects not much better over Thursday and Friday, the track had little option but to call off one of their premier jumping fixtures on the calendar.
Ascot also suffered the same fate 12 months ago – again with a frozen track. While the other big card on Saturday at Haydock, that features the Peter Marsh Chase, will also need to survive a planned inspection on Friday with the track having been frozen for much of the week.
ITV Racing were set to show four races at Ascot, so will be keeping everything crossed that their other intended meeting – Haydock – gets the all-clear.
They’ve already had to juggle their planned Friday coverage with Market Rasen and Lingfield off too. They are now showing four races on the AW from Wolverhampton.
BetMGM Clarence House Chase Raceday Update – Thursday 18th January ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/STdjYsvGw7
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) January 18, 2024
Clarence House Chase Could Be Moved To Cheltenham Next Week
The good news for horse racing fans is that the Grade One Clarence House Chase could be moved to next Saturday’s Trials Day at Cheltenham.
Prestbury Park is no stranger to picking up the pieces, having staged the race 12 months ago which Editeur Du Gite won. While Cheltenham also stepped in 2005 when Well Chief landed the prize, plus in 2013 (Sprinter Sacre) and 2017 (Un De Sceaux).
That said, the good news only extends to a possible rescheduling of the race, as the favourite with the best new betting sites El Fabiolo is unlikely to head to Cheltenham.
With connections preferring the option of staying at home and running at the Dublin Racing Festival.
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