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Huntingdon remain hopeful that Friday’s fixture could go ahead, despite heavy flooding at the Cambridgeshire track.

The course have been unable to hold a meeting since November due to ongoing flooding problems and lost their feature fixture of the year – Peterborough Chase Day – on 10 December. With the impact of Storm Henk being felt at racecourses across the country, it seemed unlikely that Friday's fixture would go ahead, yet Clerk of the Course Roderick Duncan has issued an upbeat bulletin.

"The river is down to pre-flood levels, all the drainage systems are now working and the floodwater has cleared," he said.

"There is just a small area that often accumulates at the two-mile-four (furlong) chute, but not on the racing line.

"There's a bit of standing water that remains, but we believe we've an opportunity of getting this meeting on with the forecast as it is.

"We've had a big team in, all the ground staff at Newmarket have given us a hand because there was a lot of debris about, but we've found nothing of concern.

"We were lucky that racing-critical buildings like the stable yard have all been flood-defended so that water couldn't enter them.

"We wouldn't want a lot of frost, but our forecast indicates that we shouldn't get it and for that reason we'd be quite optimistic."