ENABLE could end up running on the hurdle course at Ascot if she turns up for a muddy Champions Day.
With the Flat track currently unraceable after all the recent rain, worried officials at the Royal course could be forced to use the jumps track for their glittering end-of-season £4million Qipco bash.
It will be the first time the emergency measures have been put in place since Champions Day started in 2011.
Clerk of the course Chris Stickels said: “The track is the softest and wettest I’ve ever known it.
“The going is heavy on both the straight course and round course, which is waterlogged in places.
“We have a contingency to switch the round course races to the inner course, which is pretty much the hurdles course.
“The ground on that is currently a mixture of good to soft and soft.”
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Ascot has had 50mm of rain since Friday and the forecast is for another wet week in the run-up to Saturday’s action.
Stickels said: “We are hoping the weather forecast is wrong but it looks like being wet most days and we will need to see a lot of improvement.
“A decision on which track will be used will be left as late as possible but there will be discussions.”
What is clear is the bad ground will surely scupper any hopes fans had of seeing Enable in the Champion Stakes.
It will also mean many other top stars are unlikely to turn up to run in testing conditions after a hard season. What was meant to be a Flat celebration now looks like falling very flat.