Cheltenham to start watering

Watering is due to commence on Monday ahead of the Cheltenham Festival as the ground at Prestbury Park continues to dry out.

The four-day extravaganza kicks off on Tuesday week and the Cotswolds venue is renowned as a track that drains particularly well.

Clerk of the course Simon Claisse reports the ground to be good to soft, good in places on the chase and hurdles track, with the cross-country course good to soft, soft in places.

He is keen to maintain those conditions and will turn on the taps on Monday as a dry week is forecast.

"According to the outlook, there is no rain in sight so we will be watering,'' he said.

"The aim is to maintain the ground at its current good to soft, good in places.

"It is most likely we will now start watering on Monday. We would plan to put on eight to nine millimetres but that will depend on the strength of the wind.

"We have about 65 acres of racing surface to cover and with the later starts to watering that will be needed due to forecast overnight frosts, it will take until Thursday to complete that.

"We will take a view then and check the forecasts before deciding on any further plans.

"The track does dry very quickly here.

"Ten days ago we were still soft but it's just the nature of the ground.''