RACING NEWSTHE PERSISTENT bad weather that has disrupted racing for the last week claimed its biggest casualty yesterday with confirmation that the first two days of next week's Listowel festival have been cancelled.
Horse Racing Ireland also revealed the remaining five days of one of the most prestigious festivals in Irish racing will be all National Hunt. Dundalk's all-weather track will be pressed into service to cater for the flat races that can't be run at Listowel.
As a result there will be three extra fixtures at Dundalk next week, on Monday, Friday and Saturday.
This major reshuffle to the calendar was undertaken after an inspection at the Co Kerry course yesterday found it to be waterlogged. Hopes remain high that the pared-down festival can go ahead but the situation with the ground will continue to be monitored.
The cancellation is the latest blow to the industry after a series of abandoned fixtures including the last two days of Galway's September festival.
Meanwhile, jockey Wayne Lordan is free to ride the unbeaten filly Unsung Heroine in Saturday's St Leger at Doncaster after having had a careless riding suspension cut at the Turf Club yesterday.
Lordan received a three-day ban at Tipperary last month when Fastnowfast was disqualified from first to second in a seven furlong handicap.
However, the Turf Club's appeal panel cut the suspension to two days which takes in both today's fixture at Laytown and tomorrow's scheduled cards at Cork and Tramore.
"I'm able to ride at Doncaster on Saturday so I'm happy about that. It was a fair hearing," Lordan said afterwards. "The panel upheld the careless riding charge but felt two days would be a more appropriate suspension," a Turf Club spokesman reported.
Unsung Heroine is currently a general 7 to 1 fourth favourite for the world's oldest classic which could turn out to be compensation for Lordan who missed out on Again's Moyglare Stud Stakes victory due to another suspension.
Frozen Fire heads the betting for Saturday's Doncaster Leger and the Irish Derby winner will attempt to secure a fourth win in the race for his trainer Aidan O'Brien. Ireland's champion trainer only just missed out on a Leger double last year when Mahler ran second to Lucarno while Yeats landed the Irish Field St Leger at the Curragh on the same day.
The triple-Gold Cup winner hasn't been completely ruled out of a possible repeat this Saturday and Yeats is rated 1 to 2 (with a run) by Paddy Power ahead of today's final declaration stage.
Septimus remains a general 4 to 6 market leader with all firms for the final classic of 2008 in Ireland while O'Brien is rated a 2 to 5 chance to win the Leger and complete an Irish classic grand-slam for the year.
Irish-trained horses will make their first appearance at the Doncaster Leger festival this afternoon where O'Brien runs both Hold Me Love Me and Perihelion in the Group Two Park Hill Stakes.
The Jim Bolger-Kevin Manning team will fly the Irish flag in the Group Two May Hill Stakes with Aaroness who takes on the unbeaten 1,000 Guineas favourite Rainbow View in the mile event.
Water not a problem for Laytown
THE IRONY of a track normally underwater being the one to save racing from a streak of waterlogging won't be lost at Laytown this evening where the famous strand races start at 3.00pm, writes Brian O'Connor.
Champion flat jockeys Pat Smullen and Declan McDonogh will be joined on the sand by champion jump colleagues Ruby Walsh and Paul Carberry as well as the top amateurs Nina Carberry and Patrick Mullins.
Form on the beach is always a plus here and Dafaroun has that in spades for the opening six furlong handicap where he can get the better of last year's winner Lily Be.
Walsh's mount January has the rating to win the seven furlong maiden but his form is at longer distances so Redwater River could be a better option.
