Leopardstown Staff Not Panicking About Forecast Snow But Waiting Patiently Will Miss The Dublin Racing Festival

Leopardstown Staff Not Panicking About Forecast Snow But Waiting Patiently Will Miss The Dublin Racing Festival
15:40, 29 Jan 2019

The forecasted possibility of snow over Ireland in the coming days is not causing undue panic among the organisers of the Dublin Racing Festival as punters get ready to enjoy the next significant stop on the road to Cheltenham.

Rain is due across the country later this week and overnight temperatures will teeter below freezing at times, according to the national broadcasters’ forecast.

The Dublin region isn’t set to get the worst of it but will, it’s predicted, be hit with precipitation on Thursday.

That raises the potentially disruptive prospect of snow falling across the course at Leopardstown.

Although CEO of the South Dublin venue, Pat Keogh, seems serene before what is set to be the second rendition of the festival.

"We're still a few days away, and the situation is changeable. However, there is an expectation that most of the snow will be in the south of the country, so hopefully we'll be fine,” he told PA Sport.

Clerk of the course Lorcan Wyer was cautious but struck a similarly calm tone.

"We're not in a mad panic, but we're mindful of the forecast and we're not dismissing it,” he said.

"We're not talking about temperatures getting down to minus 5C. We're looking at minus 1C or minus 2C.

"I'm not jumping up and down about it. We'll just have to see what happens."

One potential star of the weekend has already been pulled due to a combination of fears over the ground and the weather in the shape of Ruth Jefferson’s Waiting Patiently.

The North Yorkshire-based trainer will forgo the Dublin Chase for her charge and send him back for a crack at winning a second Ascot Chase on the spin next month instead.

The Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham could then be on the cards for Jefferson's stable star.

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