Storm Chandra may have delivered a brutal test, but Leopardstown Racecourse is expected to stand firm, with new CEO Mark Clayton confident the Dublin Racing Festival will go ahead as planned this weekend.

An extended spell of wet weather, capped by an unforecast 60mm of rain on Monday alone, rendered the track unraceable on Tuesday. In total, Leopardstown has absorbed approximately 160mm of rain over the past 12 days. That was too much for the M50 running alongside the track today but a lot can happen in the 96 hours between now and the first race.

“The storm is pretty much blowing through now, and we’re confident, given the forecast, that we will be racing both days, which is amazing given the volume of rain,” said Clayton, speaking to the Press Association this afternoon. “I’m not sure there are many tracks in Britain or Ireland that would be able to take that.”

Clayton said the scale of the rainfall had even caught Leopardstown’s experienced ground staff by surprise.

“I joked with the team when I first met them that I’d been here numerous times over the last year and never seen rain,” he said. “Well, in the last 12 days we’ve had 160mm, and on Monday alone we had 60mm. It’s been torrential.

“Of course, we have to remain cautious, but we have no contingencies planned. Based on the forecast at the moment, we have complete optimism we will be racing both Saturday and Sunday.”

He explained that the challenge stemmed from the intensity, rather than the duration, of the rain.

“We were forecast 45mm across Monday and Tuesday, but we got 60mm yesterday alone,” Clayton said. “That’s why when we walked the track yesterday we were in good shape, but today it’s unraceable.”

While the weather has threatened to overshadow the build-up, Clayton said the racing itself has lost none of its appeal, with all eight Grade One races still set to go ahead across the two days.

Ticket demand has remained strong, with Saturday close to selling out and a bank holiday Monday expected to drive a large Sunday crowd.

“Ticket sales are massive and we’re close to selling out on Saturday,” said Clayton. “That will tick through to Sunday and I think we’ll have in excess of 34,000, maybe even 35,000 people here over the weekend.

“We’re really happy with how the forfeits have gone and how the racing is shaping up. The rematches across the Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Dublin Chase and Arkle are mouthwatering. There’s a real prospect of thrilling racing.”

The weekend will mark Clayton’s first Dublin Racing Festival since taking up his role at Leopardstown, following an 11-year spell at Southwell in Britain.

“Leopardstown is a wonderful place to work with some wonderful people,” he said. “This is a very special meeting and time of year for the course, and to be here and at the helm, I feel really honoured.”

With the worst of Storm Chandra expected to pass and brighter conditions forecast, Leopardstown now looks set to deliver another festival weekend—despite the elements doing their best to intervene.

 

Image Credit: Leopardstown

 

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