Fairyhouse Winter Festival to begin on Saturday after inspection

The Winter Festival at Fairyhouse has been given the all-clear to begin on Saturday after an early morning inspection.

The inspection took place at 7.30am after low overnight temperatures and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board is now satisfied that Saturday's racing can go ahead as scheduled.

An IHRB statement said: "Following an inspection this morning, Fairyhouse is fit for racing and the fixture scheduled for today, Saturday, 2 December, goes ahead as scheduled.

"The ground at Fairyhouse is now soft, yielding to soft in places (Hurdle/Bumper) and remains soft (Chase) with temperatures of three to four degrees today."

Saturday's Coral Gold Cup card at Newbury will also go ahead as planned following a precautionary inspection.

The entire track was covered again after racing on Friday and was reported to be frost free underneath at inspection time.

Officials will, however, continue to monitor conditions with a further drop in temperatures expected before day break.

A second inspection will be held at Doncaster at 9am, in order to check temperatures are rising sufficiently to lift the fleece covering the course.

Additional reporting: PA.

Watch the Fairyhouse Winter Festival on Sunday from 1.10pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player