‘Arctic blast’ threatens to disrupt UK horse racing programme until next week

Ascot is the only jumps meeting card in Britain which does not face an inspection, with below freezing forecasts for Wincanton and Haydock

The valuable card at Ascot which features the Grade One Ascot Chase is the only jumps meeting in Britain on Saturday which does not face a morning inspection as an “arctic blast” expected to last until early next week causes disruption to the racing programme, less than a month before the festival meeting at Cheltenham.

Wincanton, where Alexei, an improving 25-1 shot for the Champion Hurdle on 10 March, is due to go on trial in the Kingwell Hurdle, will hold a precautionary inspection at 8am GMT with temperatures forecast to drop below freezing overnight.

Haydock, meanwhile, has a similar forecast for lows around -2C and will also check its track on Saturday morning. The scheduled seven-race card at the Lancashire course includes two Grade Two events in addition to the £100,000 Grand National Trial over three-and-a-half miles.

No inspection is currently planned at Musselburgh for the track’s card on Sunday, but a six-race meeting at Lingfield on Monday was called off early on Friday afternoon with the track already waterlogged and further rain expected.

Conditions will be very different in Riyadh on Saturday evening when Forever Young, the Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, could take his career earnings past $30m (£22m) with a second successive victory in the $20m Saudi Cup, the world’s richest race.

Forever Young, trained in Japan by Yoshito Yahagi, will set off as a warm favourite to beat a field that includes Bob Baffert’s Nysos, the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner in 2025, and his stable-companion, Nevada Beach, who was a head behind him in a Grade Two event at Santa Anita in December.

Oisin Murphy, Britain’s champion jockey, also has a ride in the race aboard Sunrise Zipangu, whose trainer, Kyoko Maekawa, was the first woman to be granted a training licence in Japan.

Pic D’Orhy can be Jonbon’s bogey

The popular and supremely consistent Jonbon will become only the third horse this century to win 11 Grade One races over jumps with victory in the Ascot Chase on Saturdaythis afternoon, but Pic D’Orhy (3.35), his main market rival, is also on the brink of a significant achievement and could be the better bet at a track and trip that suits him ideally.

The 11-year-old will join eight former residents of the Paul Nicholls stable as the winner of more than £1m in prize money if he finishes either first or second in the five-runner field, which is all the more impressive given a preference for right-handed tracks which has seen him make only one appearance at Cheltenham, in March 2019.

Pic D’Orhy needs to be forgiven a lacklustre run in the 1965 Chase over Saturday’s course and distance in November, but he has always appreciated a decent break between runs and that outing came just three weeks after a promising seasonal reappearance in the Charlie Hall at Wetherby.

Saturday’s race will be his first for 84 days, and in an event that he has won for the past two seasons having set off on both occasions as the second-pick in the betting. The Nicholls stable is also in much better form in recent weeks, with 11 wins from 27 runners before racing on Friday including Tutti Quanti’s emphatic win in last weekend’s feature event.

Jonbon, admittedly, promises to be a tougher opponent than either of the last two favourites, but he is racing beyond two-and-a-half miles for the first time and also had to dig deep to win the Clarence House at Ascot four weeks ago after looking beaten two out.

Ascot 1.15 Mondoui’Boy was a six-figure recruit to the Ben Pauling stable last summer, made a smooth transition to hurdling at Ludlow last month and will be strongly fancied to follow up here.

Wincanton 1.35 The Kingwell Hurdle was won by the subsequent Champion Hurdle winner for the first time since 2008 last season, and fast-improving Alexei, a close third under 12 stone in a hot handicap at Ascot last time, can book a place in this year’s Champion field with a third success of the campaign.

Ascot 1.50 The late scratch of likely favourite Thomas Mor should leave The Jukebox Kid with a straightforward task.

Wincanton: 12.35 Eton Mes 1.05 Bluey 1.35 Alexei 2.11 Caballero Cliff 2.50 Mutley Crew 3.23 Jack Black 4.00 Cooleenymore 4.37 Call Me Legend.

Lingfield: 12.50 Voix De Bocelli 1.25 Into The Light 2.00 McLoven 2.35 Union Island 3.10 Legal Reform 3.45 Prancy Peer 4.20 Combustion.

Haydock: 12.55 Pourquoi Pas Papa 1.28 Throatlash 2.05 Kabral Du Mathan 2.40 Ubatuba (nb) 3.15 Deafening Silence 3.50 Found A Diamon 4.30 Unexpected Party.

Ascot: 1.15 Mondoui’Boy 1.50 The Jukebox Kid 2.25 Range (nap) 3.00 Montregard 3.35 Pic D’Orhy 4.10 Top Guy 4.45 The Flaggy Shore.

Newcastle: 4.25 Golspie 4.55 Pit Boss 5.25 Ruby Red Gove 5.55 Francesi 6.25 Mystical Land 6.55 Party Bear 7.25 Silver State.

Haydock 2.05 Dan Skelton’s Kabral Du Mathan improves with every step up in trip and will be a short price to complete a hat-trick.

Ascot 2.25 The form of Range’s narrow success at Sandown in January was franked when the runner-up took a strong race next time, and first-time cheekpieces could also eke out some more improvement.

Haydock 2.40 Ubatuba has won both his starts over hurdles with ease and can add to this on the way to a possible tilt at the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham.

Ascot 3.00 A positive track-and-trip record suggests Montregard could be the answer here despite racing from 3lb out of the handicap.

Haydock 3.15 With just seven races over fences in the book, Deafening Silence has obvious scope to build on a fine third place in the Welsh Grand National in December.