Ascot, UK: The going for the second day of Royal Ascot 2017 remains good to firm following watering last night, which saw five millimetres put on the whole course after racing.
Chris Stickels, Ascot’s Clerk of the Course, said this afternoon: “It was great racing yesterday and whilst there are a few more challenges when it’s hot, we like a dry and settled forecast as we know we can water if we need to and we will probably need to continue to water throughout the week.
“The team have worked really hard to prepare a good surface. They’ve done a fantastic job and worked late last night to put five millimetres of irrigation on.
“The best time to water is late in the evenings or early in the mornings, because the water then has the best effect when it’s not in the heat of the day.
“The track is in great condition, so we are really pleased.
“We are as prepared as we can be for maintaining horse welfare by having plenty of cold water available and people which can help with the distribution of water to the handlers of the horses, enabling them to get water to the horses quickly.
“Water is also available in lots of different areas for any horses with heat exhaustion, so we do all we can to ensure that we are on hand with cooling measures.
“It is one of the hottest days that we have had in racing in many years.”
