2 minutes Efforts by the BHA and Jockey Club to potentially reschedule the event to Friday's Gold Cup lineup were ultimately scrapped after persistent heavy rain on Tuesday led to the race's cancellation.
As many of us expected following yesterday's rumours, the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase, initially planned for 4:10pm on the festival's second day, has been called off due to a waterlogged track. This decision followed a Wednesday morning inspection.
Efforts by the BHA and Jockey Club to potentially reschedule the event to Friday's Gold Cup lineup were ultimately scrapped after persistent heavy rain on Tuesday led to the race's cancellation.
A statement by the Jockey Club on X, highlighted the challenging conditions:
"With 11mm of rain falling yesterday and no improvement in the Cross Country course conditions, some parts of the track have become unraceable. Consequently, we've had to cancel the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase. Given the ongoing unsettled weather forecast, including possible showers on Thursday and Friday, we don't foresee any significant improvement by Friday, March 15, leading to the decision not to reschedule the race at the festival."
This turn of events has led to adjustments in Wednesday's racing schedule.
The Gallagher Novices' Hurdle will now begin at 1:45pm, a delay from the original 1:30pm start.
The Brown Advisory Novices' Chase has been rescheduled from 2:10pm to 2:30pm, and the Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle will start at 3:15pm instead of 2:50pm.
The day's highlight, the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, has been pushed to a 4pm start, 30 minutes later than initially planned. The Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase and the Weatherbys Champion Bumper will maintain their original start times of 4:50pm and 5:30pm, respectively.
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