Lingfield expected to be given the all-clear for Sunday action

PA Sport Reporters
January 20, 2024 3:19 pm

Major improvement in conditions for final day of Winter Million Festival.

The final day of Lingfield’s Winter Million Festival on Sunday is expected to go ahead as planned, although it will be subject to an 8am precautionary inspection on raceday.

The three-day fixture was due to begin with a jumps card on Friday, but a frozen track saw that cancelled. Saturday’s middle day on the all-weather had no issues.

With temperatures rising ahead of Sunday’s National Hunt action, a 2pm inspection was called on Saturday to assess any progress in the condition of the ground, a check which showed conditions had improved significantly.

Charlie Moore, head of clerking at Arena Racing Company, told ITV Racing: “We’ve had difficulty with the forecast this week, it’s been four degrees wrong on two nights. It’s amazing this track has taken minus 8C and minus 7C in the last two nights.

“If we had to race today, we could make this track raceable with some track adjustments. We’re going to pass the inspection, but we are going to put in a precautionary inspection at 8am tomorrow purely because we are aware at around 10/11 o’clock tonight it could get down to just touching freezing.

“If that was wrong and it was minus 2C we could have a moment of sweat in the morning, but if we get what is forecast we’ll be texting everyone around seven o’clock in the morning saying ‘we’re on’.

“I will be very surprised and hugely disappointed if racing did not take place tomorrow.”

The ground is reported to be good to soft, soft in places, but it was not such good news for Fakenham’s Sunday card, as officials were forced to abandon due to a frozen track.