Cheltenham to check cross country

Cheltenham will stage an 8am inspection of the Cross Country course on Friday to check conditions ahead of the race due to be held on the track that day.

Situated in the middle of Prestbury Park, the unique course is currently unraceable but Cheltenham's head of racing Simon Claisse is confident given the forecast for the rest of the week.

"We are currently experiencing very cold weather at Cheltenham and the going is now good to soft, soft in places on all three courses," said Claisse.

"The Cross Country course is not currently raceable due to it being frozen in parts and for that reason I have decided to hold a precautionary inspection at 8am on Friday.

"However, the forecast for later in the week remains much more positive and the current prediction is for temperatures to reach 9C on Friday in the daytime. We are also still due to receive heavy rain from early on Friday morning."