Thickening fog which caused jockey to ‘lose his bearings’ wreaks havoc in Naas as racing ABANDONED after just ONE race

RACING in Naas has been abandoned due to worsening weather conditions that led to one jockey ‘losing his bearings’.

A thickening fog engulfed the Kildare racecourse on Sunday afternoon.

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A thickening fog has led to racing at Naas abandoned

Temperatures in the area had plummeted as low as -2 Celsius overnight, leaving a grass frost, with two pre-card inspections held.

The first race of the day was able to be run to completion, with Daryl Jacob winning the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Beginners Chase for Willie Mullins.

However, when the fog got even worse, stewards decided to abandon the rest of the seven-race card.

It is hoped that the rest of the action will be able to be completed next Friday.

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A statement from the Irish Horse Racing Board (IHRB) read: “Having consulted with a delegation of riders, trainers, the riders association, Medical Officer, Judge, Clerk of the Course and Racecourse manager, the Raceday Stewards abandoned the remainder of the card at Naas owing to fog in the interest of safety under Rule 10(i)”

Such was the extent of the visibility issues that Daryl Jacob admitted to having lost his bearings on his way to victory in the Beginners Chase.

He told Racing TV: “Once we came into the home straight the visibility got a bit better but when we got into the backstraight it was a bit thicker.

“It got harder to see and in the space of 20 minutes the fog’s come down again.

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“We used our heads and had to look very carefully. Paul [Townend] and JJ [Slevin] are experienced riders and I was following them.

“I have to admit I said to Jack [Kennedy] a couple of times as we were going around, ‘how many have we left to jump?’ as it was very difficult to get my bearings around the track.

“I think the right call has been made and in Ireland they’re very good at rescheduling these meetings so I’m sure the Grade 1 won’t be lost.

“We’ll come back here another day when conditions are perfect and the crowd and public can see some proper action.”