The prestigious Totepool Premier hurdle race-day at Kelso Racecourse – which was postponed from last Saturday because of the weather – has been rescheduled for this Sunday, March 11.

The original programme, which attracted high class entries – including the Nigel Twiston-Davies trained Bristol de Mai – was abandoned following heavy snow. The addition of a further handicap hurdle to the programme means that there will now be seven races instead of six.

Racecourse managing director, Jonathan Garratt, said: “Having spoken to many of the trainers who had horses engaged in the abandoned meeting, we knew that many of them were desperate for us to reschedule if it was at all possible.”

Paul Johnson, head of racing at the BHA, said: “With Scotland and the far north of England suffering disproportionately from abandonment this season, we have taken the unusual step of adding in an additional third Sunday fixture on March 11 in order to ensure that the race programme continues to cater for horses which may have missed recent engagements due to the poor weather.

“With the help of Kelso and the Levy Board we have also been able to take the opportunity to reschedule the two feature races from the original card and expect them to offer a Sunday highlight this week.”

The Totepool Premier Chase is seen as a springboard to Aintree and the original entry attracted both of Scotland’s Grand National hopes – the Sandy Thompson trained Seeyouatmidnight and Stuart Coltherd’s Captain Redbeard. They would face stiff opposition from the Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Bristol De Mai, which ran away with the Betfair Chase earlier in the season.

The seven race programme has more than £103,000 in prize money and gets underway shortly at 2.00pm, with the gates opening at 12.15pm.