Frost Threat Reduced At Top Jumps Tracks Jumps racing at Cheltenham has been given greater protection from the elements this winter after parent company Racecourse Holdings Trust secured the use of frost covers for the coming months.In addition to Prestbury Park, RHT's nine other National Hunt courses ? which include Aintree, Haydock, Kempton and Sandown ? will also be able to use the 45-acre sheets, which will aim to protect 80 per cent of Grade One races.The Jockey Club-owned company has entered into agreement with two different suppliers of the covers and now has the ability to cover entire racing surfaces.Director of racing at Cheltenham, Simon Claisse, said: 'Our primary objective is to protect the high-profile televised weekend fixtures from November to March.'We have the use of a sufficient amount of material to cover one large course and one smaller course, unless a Cheltenham fixture is under threat, when there would not be enough to spare for a second track.'We believe the use of these covers will significantly enhance the chances of a meeting surviving in the event of freezing conditions overnight.'However, the frost covers will not guarantee that a meeting goes ahead.'We are still at an experimental stage when it comes to assessing how effective and practical the covers will be when deployed in full on a racecourse.'One of the benefits of going to two suppliers will be to see how both companies operate in the field with two different systems.'The covers, which will be loaned from each company, have cost RHT in the region of £100,000 while other charges will be incurred for the sheets to be transported and laid on the track.Other courses outside the RHT banner will be able to hire the covers which will last longer than one season, unlike the agricultural sheets used at Newbury last February.However, the RHT covers alone will not safeguard a Festival day as 75 acres of track are used for the main meeting, meaning other sheets would have to be sought to cover the entire area.(C) PA Sport
