• Kempton Park and Wincanton pass inspections

By Andrew Atkinson

Saturday’s rescheduled Coral Welsh National meeting at Chepstow was given the go ahead after an 8am inspection of the course.

The going is heavy after temperatures dropped to 0C overnight in south Wales.

Kempton Park and Wincanton also passed Saturday morning inspections. The going at Kempton is good to soft, soft in places on the chase course and soft, good to soft in places on the hurdles course. The going at Wincanton is soft, good to soft in places.

Trainer Nick Alexander based at Kinneston in Fife reported -8 on Saturday morning: “The temperature was minus eight this morning,” said Nick.

“Lake View Lad broke the ice to lead the first lot through the dip – which lends a new meaning to the words ‘cooling off’,” quipped Nick.

Lake View Lad breaks the ice through the dip in -8 temperatures on Saturday morning. Photo: Nick Alexander
Lake View Lad breaks the ice through the dip in -8 temperatures on Saturday morning. Photo: Nick Alexander