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Cheltenham turns on taps7th March 2010
Watering is set to start tomorrow morning at Cheltenham eight days ahead of the Festival but any fears of very fast ground at the course are receding with the news that forecasters think it is highly likely there will be rain during the meeting itself.
The going at Cheltenham was mainly on the soft side of good tonight after another drying day at the track, but the clerk of the course, Simon Claisse, confirmed that he is almost certain to turn the taps on tomorrow to maintain the surface as it is at present with the forecast for a dry week ahead.
"The aim is to maintain the ground at its current good to soft, good in places," reported Claisse. "It is most likely we will now start watering on Monday. 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." John Kettley, Cheltenham's weather consultant, has briefed Claisse on the expected conditions over the next fortnight and was not surprised to hear that watering had been brought forward by 24 hours.
"High pressure is in charge this week," said Kettley. "The weather will be very stable and there will be negligible drizzle. My latest calculations are that there will be around two millimetres of rain in total before the Festival starts. I'm very confident, though, that there'll be rain during the meeting."
Cheltenham's clerk of the course, Simon Claisse, says: "It is most likely we will now start watering on Monday."