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Monday’s racing round-up brings the news of further abandonments to National Hunt racing in Britain and Ireland…
Monday's meeting at Ludlow was called off due to a waterlogged track. A post on social media said: "Unfortunately, due to waterlogging and no improvement in the forecast we are very sorry to have to abandon today's fixture." Elsewhere, waterlogging has also forced Hereford to call off their meeting on Tuesday afternoon, while Leicester already abandoned their programme over the weekend for the same reason. Clonmel's card in Ireland on Thursday has also been called off.
Salver could bid to make amends for his recent tumble on New Year's Day at Windsor's Winter Millions meeting. The Gary and Josh Moore-trained five-year-old was still in contention when falling at the final flight in the Grade 2 Relkeel Hurdle at Prestbury Park and may now head to Windsor, for a valuable two-and-a-half miles conditions race. Last year's Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle third has failed to enter the winners' enclosure since scoring at Haydock in February 2023 but proved he was a force to be reckoned with this season when fourth in a competitive handicap hurdle at Newbury on his reappearance.
Mel Rowley's Welsh Grand National hero Val Dancer may head to Haydock next for a crack at the Grand National Trial Handicap Chase on February 15th. The eight-year-old provided his handler with her finest moment to date in the training ranks when emerging from the thick fog to land Chepstow's festive feature on December 27th and the Shropshire-based handler has reported him to come out of the race in 'rude health'.
French trainer Francois Nicolle has stated that his promising four-year-old hurdler Sain D'Esprit (Cokoriko) is highly unlikely to cross the Channel to contest the Grade 1 JCB Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham in March. A winner on debut at Auteuil in April, Sain D'Esprit twice filled the runner-up spot at the same venue before defeating subsequent impressive Chepstow Grade 2 winner Nietzsche Has, who has recently been retired to stand at stud, in the Grade 1 Prix Cambacères at in November.
