Ascot Champions Day: Secretary Chris Stickels insists he is not concerned about the ground despite various rain forecasts | Racing news
Of course, Ascot secretary Chris Stickels is keeping a close eye on inconsistent weather forecasts ahead of British Championship Day Qipco, live on Sky Sports Racing, but revealed the surface is likely to be no worse than soft.
At noon on Wednesday, the ground under construction for Britain’s flattest day of racing was still good to soft.
Concerns about significant rainfall ahead of Saturday’s card, which will see Baaeed’s swan undefeated in the Champions Stakes, are easing, with some forecasts showing heavy rain in southern England on Thursday The year could spoil the Berkshire track.
Stickels said: “The ground right now, we are in a good position to be soft. “The forecast is confusing, because there are different forecasts. We’re not really sure. We’re predicting between 5mm and 12mm between now and the end of the race.
“Thursday’s forecast is a bit unclear. We are expecting one or two light showers on Thursday, not too heavy – maybe 1.5mm to 2mm.
“But then tomorrow morning the band of rain is forecast across the south of the country, there are conflicting forecasts as to whether we’ll get there or not. Some are saying we’ll us. That’s what isn’t clear, it could be anything from 7mm or 8mm to zero.
“There’s really nothing to worry about. If it rains, we’ll end up with soft ground, otherwise, we won’t.
“After tomorrow, there could be an odd shower on Friday night and an odd shower on Saturday. It’s going to be heavy.”
It’s been an extremely busy time for dual-purpose racing, with jump races starting in two weeks.
With such a dry summer, the track was dry in July but has been restored by ground crews and now looks perfect.
Stickels said: “Running track is coming back well, so that’s a positive thing. The team has worked really hard. They’ve done a great job. It’s been a busy time of year for us. me – that’s comparable to leading up to Royal Ascot.
“We raced last weekend and we have Championship Day this weekend, and in two weeks’ time we’ll be jumping.
“So there’s a lot of work to be done on the track in getting everything ready and there’s also the added ability to use the run for Champions Day which makes it a bit more challenging.
“The team has worked incredibly hard and it’s amazing that they won the RCA Dual Purpose Groundstaff Award earlier this year and it’s great that they’ve been recognized that way.”