5 January 2026
It’s been a proper taste of winter here over the past week, with a bitter frost and snowy spells leaving the whole place completely white over. Temperatures have dipped as low as -6°C, making it one of the coldest spells we’ve had in some time.
Despite the challenging conditions, the team have been nothing short of fantastic. From endlessly harrowing the gallop to keep it moving and prevent it from freezing solid, to defrosting waterers, gritting the yards and keeping everything running safely and smoothly, it’s been a huge team effort. These are the days when the hard work behind the scenes really comes to the fore, and we couldn’t be more grateful to everyone for their dedication and resilience in the cold.
Of course, we haven’t been alone in battling the frost. With the majority of racing abandoned across the country, it’s been a frustrating time for everybody. We’re due a couple more days of freezing temperatures yet, but fingers crossed we’ll see a gradual rise in them as we head towards the weekend.
Looking ahead (weather permitting!), we’ve made several entries over the coming days at Exeter, Huntingdon, Southwell, Warwick, Wetherby and Kempton. As ever at this time of year, everything is very much subject to the weather, but we’re hopeful we’ll be able to get some runners out if racing goes ahead.
For now, it’s layers on, and continuing to work around the clock to keep the horses happy, healthy and ticking over nicely. Huge thanks again to our brilliant team – they’ve truly gone above and beyond during this icy spell.
