Freezing temperatures claim jumps cards at Sandown and Wincanton

This afternoon’s meetings at Sandown and Wincanton have been abandoned due to frozen tracks.

A forecast combination of frost and even fog had given Sandown officials cause for concern on Friday, leaving clerk of the course Andrew Cooper to announce a precautionary 7.30am inspection.

With temperatures minus 2C since midnight and still minus 2C around inspection time and not expected to be above freezing until 11am, an early decision was able to made with the course frozen in places.

At Wincanton, an inspection was brought forward after temperatures fell to minus 4.2C overnight, leaving the Somerset track frozen in places and unraceable.

Newcastle’s jumps card scheduled for today was abandoned on Friday, leaving a blank day of National Hunt action in Britain.

And it is a similar situation in Ireland, where the fixture at Cork has also been cancelled due to a frozen track.