Racing: Jumps go to Hastings

All the jumping races from today's cancelled meeting have been transferred to Hastings on Thursday.

The two feature races, the Wellington Steeplechase and the Wellington Hurdles, will retain their stakes of $50,000 and $40,000 respectively but the two novice jumps races will be reduced from $27,500 to $20,000.

The distance of the Wellington Hurdles has been decreased from 3400m to 3100m but the distances of the other three races are unchanged.

Nominations for the four jumping races are to be re-opened and will close at noon on Monday, but preference will be given to horses originally accepted at Wellington.

* Today's meeting was the fifth Trentham fixture to be abandoned or transferred in the past year.

The WRC abandoned its Wellington Steeplechase meeting last year because of very wet track conditions and transferred three other meetings - both days of a Labour Weekend meeting and a Melbourne Cup day fixture - to Otaki last year.

The fifth was a Masterton Racing Club fixture last October.

WRC president Mike Brown said the cancelled meeting would have been the second biggest of the season in terms of hospitality - bettered only by Wellington Cup day.