THE FINAL day of Leopardstown's December Festival, abandoned after a 10.45 a.m. inspection yesterday, will now take place today if the course passes a 7.30 a.m. precautionary inspection this morning. The original card stands, with the first race due off at 12.45 p.m..

The weather forecast was for further frost, turning to wintry showers early this morning. Prospects, however, look good for the staging of the fourth day of what has been a tremendous Festival for Leopardstown race course All admission tickets for yesterday's fixture will be valid for today. However, the Jackpot guarantee of £20,000 will not apply.

Following an unexpected drop in temperature, yesterday's meeting at Limerick, which passed a 7.30 a.m. inspection, was abandoned. An application has been made to the fixtures committee to restage the meeting next Sunday. A decision on the new fixture Twill be announced today.

Catterick's meeting tomorrow offers virtually the only hope of any more jumps racing in Britain before the turn of the year.

All four National Hunt meetings scheduled for today at Carlisle, Newbury, Plumpton and Stratford succumbed yesterday morning to frost. Prospects are also bleak for the New Year's Eve meetings at Fontwell, Taunton and Warwick.

But the weather in North Yorkshire is milder, prompting hopes that Catterick will be able to stage the first jumps racing since Musselburgh last Friday.

With the cold weather elsewhere expected to persist for much of the week, prospects are poor for the early days of the New Year.

The prestigious televised meeting at Cheltenham on New Year's Day is already in doubt. Officials have called an inspection for 3.00, p.m. today.

Clerk of the course Philip Arkwright said: "Prospects are poor. There is a diabolical forecast and the course is unraceable at the moment. I wouldn't inspect two days in advance if I thought there was much chance.