Catterick Races off as big freeze halts jumps meeting in Britain until Thursday

The North Yorkshire course was reported to be "90 per cent" raceable on Sunday ahead of Tuesday's meeting, but another night of freezing temperatures left clerk of the course Fiona Needham with no option but to draw stumps following an 8am inspection.

She said: "It actually hasn't been as cold overnight as I thought it was going to be – for a lot of the night it was only about minus 1C.

"But temperatures plummeted early on this morning, it's currently minus 3C and it's going down, which to be fair, the forecast said would happen and it's not due to get above freezing all day today.

"A lot of the course was raceable on Sunday – where there's good grass cover it's absolutely fine.

"But there are some bits down the home straight that we can't avoid and it's getting worse as it's get colder, which is very annoying, but given the forecast, I don't it’s a surprise."

Officials at Newbury also made an early decision to abandon Wednesday's meeting, with Thursday’s National Hunt meetings at Exeter and Ffos Las the next scheduled to take place.

Monday’s action was confined to the all-weather after Market Rasen and Plumpton fell on Sunday, but even the fixtures at Lingfield and Wolverhampton were in some doubt, with the latter needing a third inspection, while the West Midlands track and Southwell are due to provide today’s racing action on the all-weather.

It is a similar story at Newbury, where an inspection had been scheduled to take place at midday – some 48 hours in advance of racing.

But while frost covers were deployed last week in an attempt to protect takes offs and landings and other vulnerable areas, clerk of the course Keith Ottesen made an early call to abandon the card.

He said: "It was quite an easy decision. We have had quite a few days of very cold and sub-zero temperatures.

"On Saturday morning, it was minus 6.35C at 7.39am and although it recovered above freezing for a couple of hours through the day, we have been below zero since 4pm on Saturday.

"There is too much frost in the ground now and in places it is pretty much frozen. It is very much frost-affected, so it is not normal ground for racing any longer.

"We brought the inspection forward from midday to before declarations close today just to make the situation clear for trainers."

Newbury had been due to stage a Listed mares' chase on Wednesday. Asked whether the contest could be saved for their next meeting on New Year's Eve, Ottesen added: "It is a possibility.

"We haven't got into it yet. We'll see if there is any call for that.

"The problem is, in the depths of winter, the opportunities coming up, we need to preserve what we've got. But we will certainly look at that, no doubt about it."

Looking further ahead the team at Exeter have announced an inspection for noon on Tuesday ahead of their planned Thursday fixture.

There has been no jumps racing in Britain since Cheltenham and Doncaster's meetings on Friday.

Horse Racing Ireland has confirmed the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase has been rescheduled to take place on Monday, December 19.

The two-and-a-half-mile Grade One, which was due to stage the seasonal reappearance of Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite Galopin Des Champs, was the centrepiece of Sunday's Punchestown card that was cancelled due to a frozen track.

Trainer Willie Mullins indicated at Cork on Sunday that there was a "good chance" Galopin Des Champs will still head for the John Durkan should it be rescheduled, with the Savills Chase at Leopardstown on December 28 and a race of the same name at Tramore on New Year's Day other options.