Fairyhouse ‘seriously concerned’ about Storm Brian

High winds from could force cancellation of Saturday’s meeting

The Fairyhouse authorities will decide in the morning if Saturday afternoon's fixture can take place although the course manager Peter Roe concedes he is "seriously concerned" about the potential impact of forecast high winds.

‘Storm Ophelia’ earlier this week didn’t impact on racing but ‘Storm Brian’ could as very high winds are being predicted for Saturday afternoon.

The first of eight races at Fairyhouse is due off at 1.35pm but officials will consult with Met Eireann at 8am in the morning to make a decision on whether the threat of high winds is too much for racing to go ahead.

“People have to travel and to be fair everyone we will make a call in the morning. It will be based on health and safety and we will be guided by what Met Eireann tell us,” said Peter Roe on Friday.

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“At the moment they are forecasting very high winds averaging up to 50 kilometres per hour and gusting up to 100 kilometres per hour. That’s on the high side and it leaves us seriously concerned,” he added.

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor is the racing correspondent of The Irish Times. He also writes the Tipping Point column