Saturday's meetings at Aintree, Chepstow and Wolverhampton have been cancelled to due the strong winds of Storm Darragh but Sandown has passed two inspections and goes ahead.

Aintree on Merseyside was set to feature the Boylesports Becher Chase, one of only a handful of races each season over the famous Grand National fences.

Due to its distance of three miles and two furlongs it is seen as a good trial for the big race in April but this year’s contest has been beaten by the weather.

A weather warning had been issued for the area and with gusts of wind up to 60mph forecast, officials felt it was prudent to make an early decision.

A post on X read: “Unfortunately our Becher Chase raceday has been abandoned following our morning inspection.

“We have continued to monitor conditions and the weather forecast throughout the night and into this morning, and we are already experiencing significant gusts of wind which are causing damage to the track infrastructure.

“The outlook for the day is for further significant winds. making it unsafe for racing. The safety of our participants, visitors and teams is our number one priority.”

Chepstow was due to stage a trial for its Welsh Grand National, which is held on December 27th.

However, the decision was taken just after 7am that conditions were too dangerous with wind gusts of up to 35mph.

Complicating matters further was that both the Severn Bridge and the Prince of Wales Bridge were closed in both directions seriously affecting journeys to and from Wales.

Sandown’s Betfair Tingle Creek meeting passed a morning inspection, but officials felt it needed a second look at 9.30am before confirming that racing goes ahead.

Wetherby’s meeting, due to begin at 10.35am, also survived an inspection.

Navan stages an eight-race card, starting at 11.30am. Following a stormy night the wind warning reduced from Status Orange to Status Yellow at 10am. The ground is described as yielding.

Saturday's point-to-point at Boulta in Co Cork also goes ahead.