Newcastle will have to pass an 8am inspection if their card, featuring the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, is to go ahead
Newcastle will have to pass an 8am inspection if their card, featuring the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, is to go ahead.
Last Updated: 30/11/12 12:20pm
Temperatures dropped as low as minus 6C overnight and while clerk of the course James Armstrong is taking some heart from the forecast, he feels it prudent to call an early morning check.
He said on Friday morning: "We are not quite raceable at present and it has only been above freezing for about an hour, so it is the sun doing the work.
"We are 80% raceable, with just the opened up or exposed areas that are a problem.
"The forecast is promising as it is not forecast to freeze for as long as it did overnight - we were below 0C from 9pm on Thursday until 8 or 9am this morning.
"There's a band of sleet or rain forecast to move in which should help keep the temperature up a little and I'm not worried about the rain now, we can take it.
"We may get a slight drop in temperature around 7 or 8am but if the forecast is right, we should have good chance of racing."