New date for Welsh National as rain rules
OFFICIALS at Chepstow have moved quickly to reschedule the Coral Welsh Grand National for January 6 after yesterday’s fixture was abandoned due to a waterlogged track.
The three-mile-five-furlong heat was due to be the feature event on a seven-race card, but rain and snow over the last two days left the track unraceable.
Three of the last seven renewals have been run in early January and in consultation with the race sponsor and the British Horseracing Authority, the card has been saved once again.
Chepstow’s clerk of the course Keith Ottesen said: “With huge help from our sponsors Coral and the BHA, we’ve rearranged the fixture for Saturday, January 6, and we’ll have some races on ITV as well.
“All the information about redeeming tickets, tickets being valid for January 6 and refunds is on the Chepstow website.
“Entries for the Coral Welsh Grand National itself will go back to the original stage in November, so even if you didn’t declare for today’s race, you will be able to do so.
“With 60mm of rain in the last 48 hours, including 40mm overnight, the track was simply unraceable.
“We’re waterlogged and flooded in places, we’ve got a lake at the bottom of the track, it’s ridiculous.
“We’d been positive all week because we just didn’t expect this to happen, but we were never going to get the improvement needed for the rest of the day and so in that respect, it was an easy decision.
“I’ve had trainers on from Gloucestershire and some places saying they wouldn’t have been able to get here anyway because the snow is so bad as well.”
“While it is frustrating we are pleased to be able to work swiftly to rearrange the day.
“The original 75 entries for the Coral Welsh Grand National stand and entries for all other races reopen with entries now closing on January 1.”
Coral have reissued ante-post prices, with Beware The Bear heading the market at 9-1 ahead of 10-1 Folsom Blue.
Phil Bell, executive director of Chepstow Racecourse, said: “The Coral Welsh Grand National is one of the biggest jump races of the year, and a feature of Welsh sporting calendar.
“For all of our customers, and our sponsor Coral, it is sad to be in this situation, but the amount of rain and snow simply exceeded
“However, while we have been defeated by the weather in the short term, the team at Chepstow is now looking forward to welcoming everyone back on Saturday, January 6, for a great day of sporting action.”
This latest delay will be the fourth postponement since 2010.
The 2010, 2012 and 2015 Welsh Nationals took place the following January with frost or waterlogging causing problems.
And Bell admitted the 2017 switch will prompt a discussion as to the Coral Welsh National’s position in the racing calendar.
“We’ll have to look all expectations. at all the options,” he told the South Wales Echo. “To get the same footfall we’re probably looking at Easter, but there’s the Irish National at Fairyhouse on Eater Monday.
“Any thoughts about staging in November, February or March are really no-gos because of the Six Nations rugby, so I’d say it’s 90 per cent it’ll stay where it is.
“It’s a traditional part of the racing calendar now and trainers have told me that they target the race with their soft or heavy ground horses and they like where it is in the season.
“I think we were unfortunate this year. On Christmas Eve we were fine, the forecast was fine and then this rain came from nowhere.”