Easy ground expected for Cambridgeshire
Newmarket officials believe the ground will be somewhere between good and good to soft for the third and final day of the Cambridgeshire meeting on Saturday.
The going was good for the start of the three-day fixture today, but rain is expected over the next two nights.
“The forecast is for further rain tonight, actually quite heavy with about six or seven millimetres. If that happens we will definitely go good to soft on Friday, but they are likely to be hit and miss so we will have to see,” clerk of the course Michael Prosser told Racing UK.
“There may be a little bit of rain on Friday night so going on the slow side of good definitely looks feasible, and likely, for Saturday.
“The timing for rain tonight and Friday is actually at about midnight clearing away first thing in the morning.”
As for the effect of the draw over the three days, especially for the Cambridgeshire on Saturday, Prosser does not believe one side of the course will hold an advantage.
“At this moment in time I don’t think there’s any difference. We’ve been up and down with the going stick, 6.7 on the stands side and 6.8 on the far side. Today it’s flipped, 6.8 and 6.7,” he went on.
“They are racing on the stands side today so they’ll get in the ground slightly there, while tomorrow they are on the far side so they’ll get into that the same.
“Come Saturday both sides will have been used so if it does rain it will get in evenly. They may even come off the fence on Saturday and go up the middle if we get heavy rainfall as it won’t get used much before then.
“I don’t think it will be worse than good to soft on Saturday. I think it will be between good to soft and good if we take the forecast at face value.”
