Cheltenham Update

Watering of Cheltenham´s Old and New Courses started on Wednesday, March 3, and the initial phase was completed on Friday, March 5. Over a million gallons of water was put on 50 acres of ground, the equivalent of between 24 and 28 millimetres of rainfall.

Simon Claisse, Cheltenham´s Clerk of the Course, commented today: 'The watering has changed the going from good to firm, good in places to good.

'The forecast this week is for dry weather with overnight frosts until midweek and then there is a good chance of about seven to eight millimetres of rain towards the end of the week.'

The Old Course is used for the first two days of the Festival - Tuesday and Wednesday, March 16 & 17 - while racing switches to the New Course on Thursday, March 18.

Racegoers will notice a change to the fences on the New Course. It looks like they have been made narrower but this is an optical illusion.

These fences have been widened by between two and five yards in preparation for two days of racing on the New Course in 2005 when the Festival becomes a four-day event for the first time. The new sections of the fences are not being used this year and therefore are behind the running rail.

Simon Claisse reported: 'The fact that the running rail cuts off part of each fence gives the false impression that we have narrowed the fences but we have added extra width to them on the inside which is not being used this year. It looks odd but will give us more options to use fresh ground next season.'