RACING: Saturday's meeting at Naas has been cancelled due to the extreme weather conditions while a major question mark still hangs over Leopardstown on Sunday.
Officials at Naas had no option but to cancel Saturday’s meeting after heavy snow and rain at the Co Kildare venue.
“They had a good bit of snow overnight. It’s still snowing and they’ve been waterlogged,” said Irish Turf Club press officer Cliff Noone. “There’s no way they can race so they’ve taken the decision now to pull the plug.”
Sunday’s big meeting at Leopardstown, featuring the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup, is under threat with a further inspection at 7.30am tomorrow morning.
Snow earlier in the week, followed by rain and then more snow today, led to the announcement of a lunchtime inspection and with the snow still falling, Irish Turf Club press officer Cliff Noone admits they are facing an uphill struggle.
“Conditions had improved prior to the inspection but it has been snowing since 10.30am so they are basically back to the stage where the track is unfit for racing,” said Noone.
“They will have a look in the morning and I would imagine they will make a final decision then. It just depends how quickly things clear up but at the moment, it wouldn’t look terrific.”