Peterborough Chase moved to Newbury

Big Buck's

If the weather relents this week jump racing can look forward to an early Christmas present on both sides of the Irish Sea.

After the brief respite, when Cheltenham’s International meeting came through unscathed by the elements, what has become an all-to-normal disruption to service resumed when the card at Huntingdon on Sunday was lost due to a frozen track.

However, the highlight from that fixture, the Grade Two totesport.com Peterborough Chase, has been transferred to Newbury’s meeting on Wednesday as the seventh race on an eight-race card. The race will now be run with a total prize fund of £30,000 and the original entries will be carried forward, with declarations at 10am on Tuesday.

In deciding to continue the backing of the race at its temporary venue Jason Brautigam, the Tote's director of racecourse business, said: "With freezing conditions forecast to hit Britain again in the latter part of the week, everyone has worked swiftly to take advantage of the limited window of opportunity to hold this prestigious race and the Tote is delighted to lend its support to the rearranged Peterborough Chase at Newbury."

If that window of opportunity extends to Ireland then Fairyhouse offers an even better card, with four Grade One races that have been put into cold storage in the past fortnight. The fixture was originally staging theHatton's Grace Hurdle, Drinmore Novice Chase and Royal Bond Novice Hurdle.

Now the John Durkan Memorial Chase has also been added following the abandonment of Punchestown's meeting on Tuesday.

Officials at Ascot have been protecting the turf at their track since before the weekend and have been rewarded with the prospect of the champion staying hurdler turning out for the main event at their two-day fixture, although the forecast drop in temperature puts the meeting in some doubt.

Big Buck's, twice the winner of the World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, was one of 10 entries remaining in the Grade One BGC Long Walk Hurdle on Saturday. Big Buck’s will be attempting to win the race for a second successive year although this would be his first run at Ascot as the race was rescheduled to Newbury last season when the original slot was lost to the weather.

Big Buck’s will be attempting to maintain his perfect record over hurdles in Britain in nine starts since he was switched to timber following unseating his rider in the Hennessy Gold Cup two years ago. As ever the Paul Nicholls horse comes to the race well ahead of any possible rivals in terms of official handicap ratings.

In this case he is at least 9lbs clear and the horse closest to him is Celestial Halo, a stable companion who runs in the same owner ship, who finished third to Karabak in the Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday.

Market leader Aegean Dawn is among 34 five-day entries for the other valuable hurdle on the card, the Ladbroke.

Paul Wheeler

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