Heavy ground at Cheltenham & Cross Country race in doubt

The ground is sure to be testing on day one of the Cheltenham Festival following 6mm of rain overnight with a further 4 to 6mm forecast for today.

The going is currently soft, heavy in places, and worryingly the Cross Country course, which is due to be used for the fifth race tomorrow, is currently waterlogged.

There will be an inspection of the Cross Country track at 8am tomorrow morning and officials have a contingency plan to reschedule the race on Friday if it is still unfit for racing.

The Unibet Champion Hurdle is the feature this afternoon at 3.30 with State Man set to go off a red-hot favourite against seven rivals.

The action gets underway with the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at 1.30.