Ripon officials not surprised as Great St Wilfrid draws reduced field

Consolation race for Ripon highlight called off after just 15 runners declared for main event.

Only 15 horses have been declared for Saturday’s William Hill Great St Wilfrid at Ripon, with course officials citing a combination of reasons for the race failing to fill.

In recent years there has even been a consolation race for the highlight of Ripon’s season, but that contest has been scratched due to a lack of runners.

While Tom Dascombe’s Misty Grey tops the handicap on a rating of 109, bottom horse Mark’s Choice is only rated 75 and a long way out of the weights. He should be carrying 7st 6lb, but the course specialist is shouldering 8st 2lb instead, with William Pyle taking 7lb off his back.

Investec Derby Festival 2019 – Ladies Day – Epsom Downs Racecourse
Misty Grey heads the Ripon field (Simon Cooper/PA)

Ventura Express (2lb), Good Earth (3lb) and Embour (4lb) are also out of the weights.

Ripon’s clerk of the course James Hutchinson told Sky Sports Racing: “The weather we’ve had is certainly a challenge, preparing the ground becomes more important than usual.

“We’ve been doing everything we can to ensure we’ve got quick, safe ground given the conditions the weather is throwing at is.

“It’s not that much of a surprise given we only had 34 entries, we’ve had 50 or 60 in more recent times which has given us enough to have the consolation race.

“Out of the original entries, 18 would be in the handicap if the top weight ran and 14 would be out of the handicap, so all those at the bottom which would normally fill the consolation race haven’t declared because of the fear they’d be in the main race and having to carry overweight.

“It’s an overall reflection of where the industry is, the number of horses in training and the difficulty of preparing ground in the current situation.

“We water from a bore hole which is not of drinking quality, but we still need permission from the Environment Agency to do so.

“We’ve still got six exciting races on the day, we’ve our usual attractions and plenty going on. We’re sold out in the Club Enclosure but there are still paddock and course enclosure tickets available.”

A total of 56 runners have been declared across Ripon’s six races, while seven-race cards at both Newmarket and Doncaster have drawn just 41 declarations apiece.

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