Kempton revise their plans

14 April 2012

All weather action is firmly back on the agenda at Kempton Park with a revised plan designed to give Londoners the chance to see floodlit Flat racing and high-class jumping under the same roof.

Plans for the Sunbury venue to ditch National Hunt racing in favour of an international class all weather facility had to be shelved last year due to local opposition and a fierce backlash from the jumping fraternity.

Newmarket, Newbury Great Leighs and Sedgefield have all forged ahead with all-weather plans in the interim, but Kempton MD Julian Thick is confident that his new proposals will help redress the balance.

He said: "Our vision still includes a state-of-the-art all weather track to sit alongside our existing jumping programme for a combination which will put us in great shape for the future."

A 10-furlong all-weather circuit running right-handed replaces Kempton's original plan for a lefthanded track which would have meant re-siting the grandstands.

"We're very encouraged by the feedback we are getting from the local community," added Thick.

"The next step is a full consultation process and a formal planning application, and we hope the new allweather facility will be open in 2005."

News of Kempton's latest attempt to add an all-weather string to its bow was announced at a Press conference which also included the entries for next month's Pertemps King George VI Chase and details of a £100,000 bonus for any owner, trainer or rider who lands all three Grade 1 contests on the Boxing Day programme.

The exciting French chaser Jair du Cochet rates among the main dangers to last year's King George winner Best Mate, but his trainer Guillaume Macaire is looking no further than Saturday's eagerly-awaited clash between the pair in the Tote Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon.

"Jair du Cochet is fine and relaxed, but Best Mate is a lion of a horse," he said.

"We have no pretensions to beating him, but if I want to run Jair du Cochet in the best races in Britain then I have to take him on."

Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson is likely to face the toughest away fixture of his career in his legal battle over Rock Of Gibraltar.

Leading bloodstock figures are already closing ranks around the Coolmore stud boss John Magnier following the news that the Old Trafford boss has served a writ to obtain a share of stud fees which could amount to as much as £50m.

Henry Beeby, who knows Magnier well in his capacity as Managing Director of Doncaster Bloodstock Sales, said: "It's very hard to know what happened in this instance, but John Magnier is one of the best known people in racing and hasn't got there by mistake."

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