Hi all,
Inside today’s main piece, I’m reflecting on last week’s big race action—or rather, the lack of it.
Weather Wreaks Havoc on Racing
Saturday’s ITV meetings were called off due to frozen ground. It’s always frustrating to spend time analysing a card only to see the races abandoned. That said, I was at a family gathering in York on Saturday, so the cancellations didn’t affect me as much as they might have otherwise.
The weather chaos carried into Sunday. Plumpton’s Premier Meeting initially passed an early inspection, though the Clerk of the Course admitted there was standing water on parts of the track, with the Open Ditch set to be bypassed.
Yet, within just 90 minutes, the meeting was abandoned entirely.
While I understand Plumpton’s hesitation to cancel its biggest race day of the season too early, the last-minute decision caused unnecessary disruption. Many racegoers were likely already en route to the course. Who will reimburse their transport costs? And what about owners who wasted time and incurred travel expenses for themselves and their horses?
Musselburgh Fiasco Highlights Bigger Issues
Musselburgh’s handling of their Friday card was even worse. After five failed inspections, the meeting was abandoned just minutes before the first race. Meanwhile, racegoers were still being admitted, and racecards were sold right up until the announcement.
This fiasco was avoidable. After the 10:15 inspection, it was clear the track wouldn’t be safe in time. The meeting should have been called off then. Instead, the disorganised handling turned the sport into a farce—more pantomime than professionalism.
It’s easy to see why this happens. Racecourses are heavily reliant on media rights income, so the financial incentive to delay cancellations is strong. Without these payments, Musselburgh’s meeting would likely have been abandoned much earlier—probably by Friday morning.
Unsurprisingly, one owner voiced their frustration to the Racing Post, and he was “absolutely furious.” You can read his comments here.
The past few days haven’t reflected well on the sport. Decision-makers must do better in the coming weeks to avoid such embarrassing episodes.
Looking Ahead
The forecast is mostly dry after Monday, but snow and freezing conditions in northern Britain will likely limit jumps racing. Without a significant rise in temperatures, fixtures in those areas seem doubtful.
There’s cautious optimism that Saturday’s feature cards at Warwick and Kempton will go ahead, with Kempton looking the more likely of the two to beat the weather. However, it’s to earlier to have any real confidence either way.
I looked at the highlights from Cheltenham’s New Year’s Day card in Thursday’s column which you can find here.
Naas – Sunday Review
Remarkably, Naas escaped the snowy weather and managed to stage its Sunday card, albeit under gloomy skies and what looked atrocious ground. The highlight was the Grade 1 Lawlor's Of Naas Novice Hurdle, but the meeting also featured the competitive Grade 2 Racing Post Novice Chase.
Grade 2 Racing Post Novice Chase
Inthepocket went off as a weak favourite. While I thought he was the most likely winner, his short odds weren’t appealing. In hindsight, laying him would have been the smarter play, especially given the poor form of the Henry De Bromhead yard earlier on the card.
The money came in for Ile Atlantique, and it was well-placed. He delivered an assured performance, jumping efficiently and thriving on the rain-softened ground. The winner looked comfortable throughout, gaining a decisive half-length advantage at each fence.
In stark contrast, Inthepocket was lacklustre. His jumping was poor, and he performed as though it was his chase debut rather than his third outing over fences. Something seemed amiss, and this run probably isn’t reflective of his true ability.
Grade 1 Lawlor's Of Naas Novice Hurdle
In the feature race, I successfully laid the favourite, Jasmin De Vaux, due to concerns about his jumping, and those concerns were well-founded. I told consistent profits subscribers that he would be a lay at under 2/1. I personally laid him at 15/8 to make a small profit on the race.
The race went to The Yellow Clay, who made it four wins from four starts over hurdles.The winner impressed with his jumping and attitude, thriving in the well-run 2m4f contest. His performance suggests there’s more to come and he doesn’t need ground as testing as this.
Runner-up Supersundae, stablemate of the beaten favourite, lacked race fitness, and that told in the closing stages. He couldn’t land a challenge late on but should strip fitter next time. He’s shaping up as a solid contender for the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.
As for Jasmin De Vaux, significant improvement in his jumping is required for him to compete at Grade 1 level. At this stage, he doesn’t appear a natural over hurdles.
Butch Cassidy, another De Bromhead runner, was beaten early and failed to fire. His performance was in line with the underwhelming efforts of the yard on the day, so it’s worth forgiving this run. Shuffle The Deck never seemed comfortable in the testing conditions, and similar leniency can be applied.
Final Thoughts
The day belonged to Ile Atlantique and The Yellow Clay, who delivered impressive victories in their respective races. For others, including Inthepocket and Jasmin De Vaux, it’s back to the drawing board, with fitness, ground conditions, and jumping technique needing reassessment.
Good luck with your Monday bets.
John