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Midweek meet finalised

Robin Parke

The Jockey Club will go ahead next Wednesday with a seven-event programme at Sha Tin to compensate for the meeting controversially lost to Typhoon Leo last Sunday.

But the decision to proceed with the only blank midweek remaining in the programme was not exactly cut-and-dried. The Club had hoped to run eight races - dropping one griffin event and the feature from last Sunday - and start 30 minutes earlier.

This idea ran into police objections and it was finally agreed on all sides to proceed with a normal midweek seven-event programme. Sunday's abandoned meeting featured the Cable TV Cup but the television company is not involved in Wednesday's re-arranged meeting, while the May 15 meeting features the Champions and Chater Cup over 2,400 metres.

Main event at the rescheduled meeting will be the Sha Tin Futurity Trophy over 1,600 metres.

There will be four races on turf with the remaining three on the all-weather surface.

The prospectus for the May 15 meeting has been revised and was sent round yesterday - along with the prospectus for next Wednesday - to all trainers who must enter horses for both meetings by 11am today.

Trainers discussed briefly races for the re-arranged meeting at a special session with director of racing, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, and senior handicapper, Martyn Stewart, at Sha Tin yesterday morning.

But of more significance were talks held about next season's programming.

Trainer Patrick Biancone said: 'There was nothing at all sensational in the meeting. It was solid and very constructive.' Don't miss Racing Post

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