A brutal spell of winter weather has redrawn the Saturday jump racing map, leaving Kempton Park as the principal surviving venue after frost claimed several high-profile meetings across Britain and Ireland.
Following early-morning inspections, Kempton’s Lanzarote Hurdle card was cleared to go ahead, offering a much-needed anchor for the sport on a day dominated by abandonments. By contrast, Warwick’s Classic Chase meeting was lost to frozen ground, while Fairyhouse also failed to recover from overnight sub-zero temperatures.
At Kempton, conditions were delicately balanced in the hours leading up to racing. Officials described the surface as “crispy on top” early on, but a slow rise in temperature brought optimism, with the going expected to ride good to soft in places by mid-afternoon. That was sufficient to press on, ensuring jump racing retained a flagship event on the schedule.
The afternoon’s centrepiece, the Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle, brings together a typically competitive field of 17 runners. Dan Skelton, successful in the race for the past two seasons, bids to complete a notable hat-trick with A Pai De Nom, a six-year-old already a three-time winner this term. While progressive and consistent, he now faces his most demanding assignment to date in a deep handicap.
Market attention has settled primarily on French Ship and Lanesborough, both solid and obvious contenders, but the race’s depth is reflected in a strong second tier of challengers close behind the principals. Prominent among them is Fasol, whose profile continues to attract support.
The seven-year-old has won his last two starts under Olive Nicholls, scoring at Wincanton in December before following up on 1 January at Musselburgh. Those victories, achieved with something in hand, have positioned him at around 12-1 in early markets — not an outsider on the fringes, but one of the leading contenders just behind the favourites. His upward curve suggests he has every right to be involved at the business end.
Elsewhere, the picture was far less encouraging. Warwick officials confirmed that, despite precautionary measures, frozen patches on the back straight made racing unsafe, with temperatures forecast to rise too slowly to allow improvement. Fairyhouse faced a similar scenario, inspections pushed back but ultimately unable to save the card as frost lingered stubbornly.
The knock-on effect has been significant, with broadcast plans reshuffled and Kempton left to shoulder much of the jump racing spotlight. The situation underlines the fragility of winter fixtures and the constant challenge posed by prolonged cold spells at this time of year.
For racing fans, however, the outcome delivers clarity. Kempton stands firm, the Lanzarote Hurdle goes ahead, and a fiercely competitive handicap remains the focal point of a weekend shaped as much by the weather as by the form book.
