That stated, National Hunt rider Andrew Thornton has hailed the ingenuity of officials at Chester after the track confirmed a trial into the possibility of staging summer jumps racing.
The people at the Roodee are mulling over the prospect of running hurdle races around the tight circuit, with a schooling session planned for Monday. Trainer Donald McCain, based locally, will provide the horses for the trial, which will also be attended by a representative of the British Horseracing Authority.
Four flights of hurdles are due to be set up, with McCain's inmates working over two miles under experienced riders.
Thornton and his weighing- room colleague Richie McGrath will be in attendance in their roles as jockeys' safety officers. "I'm going there on Monday and I think it's a very exciting idea. I take my hat off to Chester for taking the initiative," Thornton said.
"I know people will have doubts as Chester is renowned as being a tight track, but Fakenham is just as sharp and nobody bats an eyelid there.
"At Fakenham, you jump the last hurdle four times over three miles and you're racing downhill past the stands. At Chester, after the turn for home, it's largely flat.
"Cartmel is also very sharp, they virtually have hairpin bends, and there is a stone wall running around the outside of the track. I don't think the track at Chester would be a problem, it would be no tighter than those two."
Thornton and McGrath will be looking at a number of criteria as McCain's horses are put through their paces.
Thornton said: "I'll be there as a safety officer and I suppose one of the main things to consider would be the siting of the hurdles. We'll also be looking at run-out areas but Chester has always seemed like a big, wide, open space, so that shouldn't be a problem."
Thornton is hoping that the experiment will prove to be a success.
"From the jockeys' point of view, I would definitely welcome the idea," he added. "It's a very exciting idea and Chester always produces big crowds."
*Ayr lost a recent fixture, and Hamilton had to survive an inspection earlier in the week, but while many of us were sheltering from the rain yesterday, the good people in change at Perth were watering their grass, writes Gordon Brown.
Whether it will be enough to keep trainer Karen McLintock happy is unsure because she would like easy conditions for Nodforms Violet in this afternoon's feature race at the country's most northerly track.
The Tyneside raider has had treatment on his back since going close on his last run, and faces nine rivals in the Sodexo Prestige Handicap Chase. McLintock said: "He's had problems with his back and we've had it looked at since Worcester last month which came after his easy win at Cartmel.
"He goes right-handed and was third over hurdles on his only other trip to Perth, but I hope that they get a little rain as I don't want the ground too firm."
