Warwick races cancelled as dry conditions take their toll
The long dry summer is having an impact on jump racing nationally with Warwick's meeting yesterday (Wednesday) cancelled as the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) announced a number of changes to the racing programme, writes David Hucker
Amongst the changes is October's Chepstow's Welsh Racing Festival, traditionally seen as the start of the core jumps programme, which has become an all-hurdle card with the chases transferred to Worcester and Ffos Las. Ludlow's fixture on October 7 has been abandoned, with Worcester staging an additional meeting on the same day.
Warwick kicked off its new season only last week after watering the track from the beginning of August. The going was good to firm, good in places but, with the BHA looking for fixtures to be held on ground on the easier side of good, Warwick didn't have the watering capacity to improve conditions in time.
Tom Byrne, the BHA head of racing and betting, said: "We appreciate that these are significant changes to the race programme at this stage of the season. However, we hope that as a package they will allow the sport to deliver an appropriate jumping programme over the coming weeks”.
“Our intention is to ensure that racing over both hurdles and fences takes place on the best ground available and further updates are likely to follow on a weekly basis from this point”.
Despite the loss of Warwick, September still proved to be a busy month for Alcester trainer Dan Skelton who is chasing Martin Pipe's record of 243 winners set in the 1999/2000 season. Skelton had clocked up 76 by the end of August and, with two winners at both Bangor-on-Dee and Newton Abbot, increased the total to 80 at the end of the first week.
The second week saw return visits to Bangor-on-Dee, Sedgefield (twice) and Uttoxeter that yielded four winners before it was up to Scotland and two runners at Kelso, but neither managed to add to the total.
Travelling from one end of the country to the other, it was next stop Newton Abbot for the conclusion of the Sun Racing Summer Jumps Championship which had started at Worcester in May. Not surprisingly, Dan and his brother Harry were well clear to scoop the top trainer and jockey prizes and, although without a runner in the final heat, still left with two winners as Depalma and Service Minimum took the score to 86.
Without a winner at Warwick's first meeting of its new season, Snipe coming closest when beaten a short head in the feature race, Delgany Second Now was the star of a four-horse raiding party at Perth 24 hours later when he won his fourth race in a row, but eight runners at Worcester, Market Rasen and Newton Abbot failed to add to the total which remained at 87 at the end of month five.
Comparisons with Pipe are difficult, as the season starts and finishes earlier today but, in the five completed seasons since the pandemic, Dan has never managed more than 55 winners in the first five months. Whilst his total this time augurs well for the record attempt, he must first beat his own best score of 205 achieved in 2018/19. He has the stable strength to achieve his goal, but the changing weather pattern may yet have a bearing on how the season pans out.
Photograph - Beorma, seen here winning at Warwick in June, has contributed seven wins to Dan Skelton's total of 87 at the end of September (David Pratt Photography)
