Doncaster, Newbury Rained Off

[Wandering Eyes]

Doncaster and Newbury Racecourses, which were set to feature key 2-year-old events on Saturday headed by the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster, have had their meetings abandoned after being hit by severe rain overnight.

The Vertem Futurity Trophy will be run on Friday, Nov. 1 over the Tapeta at Newcastle, while Newbury’s featured G3 Horris Hill S. will take place Saturday, Nov. 2 at Newmarket. Entries stand for both races, however both have been re-opened for new entries with a deadline of 10 a.m. on Oct. 30 for the Vertem Futurity Trophy and 10 a.m. on Oct. 31 for the Horris Hill. The races will retain their original purses. The Vertem Futurity Trophy initially attracted a field of six, five of those with trainer Aidan O’Brien headed by the favoured G2 KPMG Champions Juvenile S. winner and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Mogul (GB) (Galileo {Ire}).

Paul Johnson, Head of Racing and Racecourse for the BHA, said, “With the fixtures clearly being at risk yesterday, it was possible to begin to make plans at an early stage to ensure that we were able to save these important and valuable races. We are also extremely grateful to ARC, the Jockey Club, HBLB and Vertem for their hard work and generosity in ensuring that we could retain both races and are particularly pleased that both can be staged at the original value.”

John Dance of sponsor Vertem Asset Management, said, “It was a real shame that the Futurity Trophy was lost to the weather today, but as a big supporter of racing in the North and of Newcastle in particular, I’m absolutely delighted to see the race come up here.

“The straight mile at Newcastle is a fantastic track, as seen by the quality of young horses that have run here in the last few years so we cannot wait for Friday and to be associated with a race of the highest quality at our home racecourse.”

Arena Racing Company Chief Executive Martin Cruddace said, “We were obviously very sorry to lose the Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster today, but I am delighted that we have been able to move so quickly to rearrange the race, at its original prize money levels, to Newcastle on Friday evening.

“We would obviously like to thank our colleagues at the BHA, the Levy Board and horsemen for their cooperation and, of course, our sponsors, Vertem. All have done a brilliant job working together and with us to rearrange the race so quickly. We hope that all racing fans in the North East will embrace the fixture and come along to enjoy Britain’s first ever Group 1 race run on an artificial surface. Our Tapeta track at Newcastle is world-class and I am sure the track will do the famous race proud.”

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