Thanks for the update Mr Eboue, much appreciated.

whatever nature throws at us it can't be a bloody cold as last year - a nice mild week bathed in spring sunshine isn't too much to hope for.

not much fun drinking cold cider, mid-morning in the guiness village if its freeeeeeeeeezing cold.

Forecast looks very good for the next couple of days with a bit of rain after that, but all in all it looks like a good chance to dry out the ground. What happens in the week running up to the Festival is obviously pivotal, but I don't think I'd want to be betting against good to soft at the moment.

Thank heaven Thursday is a quiet day

according to bbc website even the best forecasters cannot accurately predict weather more than a few days in advance, which website does anyone else look at ??

the one I have posted is usually very accurate...sometimes the days change (i.e. the rain comes in a day earlier or later etc but in the main stays fairly static.)

The bottom line is here that the clerke of the course will keep saying everything is hunky dory as his brief is to ensure the ground is perfect to maximise entries.  The last thing Cheltenham want is scaring off some trainers/owners/horses who would prefer to wait for aintree and better ground...so they will tell you they are bang on course for desired ground.  And who knows it could be.......

However, last year we had heavy going on trials day in January and the ground at the festival was soft......this year the ground on trials day was heavy and since we have had much more rain than last year.

Conclusion it will be at least soft....possibly soft, good to soft in some places

The key forecast has got to be on the day when please can it be sunny so we don't to get drenched enjoying the line-up in the Supreme

WHEN WILL THEY TURN THE TAPS ON?????

If there was a market for whether Claisse will water this year, how would you price it up?

Today in Cheltenham
It was DRY
Bloody forecasters

I waiting for a trademen who is also waiting for a dry day to carry out repairs
Whats the point of these useless forecasters

sporadic heavy showers (although not for long over the past 24hr-36hrs)...forecast some better days but interrupted again with the odd shower over next few

sintonian
26 Feb 14 14:31
Claisse says they could get an inch (25mm) between now and next Friday. Soft ground for day 1 looks likely?


My fingers are firmly crossed Sint.

I have a hunch Claisse will be getting his hose out at some point

Simon Claisse, clerk of the course at Cheltenham Racecourse talks about the ground ahead of the Festival:

"We've had our fair share of rainfall here, but interestingly when you compare September to now, this year and last year, the rainfall has been about the same over that period. This year, though, it's all come in the last six or seven weeks.

"It's looking in great order, particularly all the ground that we save from year to year to use only at the Festival, which we haven't set foot on since this time last year. If people are concerned about the damage done on the track on our [two] days in January, rest assured that there is no issue.

"If I was giving an assessment for racing today I'd probably call it soft, good-to-soft in places. Up until this morning there were some pretty strong signals for a drier period of weather [but] the latest update from our private forecaster John Kettley is that we are now likely to get up to an inch between now and the Friday of next week."

Shockster/unclepuncle.....where did you see that quote from Claisse. On the race course website it states he said it was soft and soft/heavy in places on the x-contry course.

Racecourse website;

Cheltenham's clerk of the course Simon Claisse is on guard against further rain with the track shaping up nicely ahead of the Festival in just under two weeks.

Like the rest of the country, Prestbury Park was hit by the foul weather over the last month or so but was bathed in glorious spring sunshine on Wednesday.

"Over the last 10 days we've not had a great deal of rain," said Claisse.

"It's looking in great order, particularly the seven to nine yards we save all year for the Festival.

"If I was assessing it today, I'd say it was officially soft on both courses, while the cross country is soft, heavy in places.

"You are warned by the Met Office not to look further than five or six days, as the weather can be so volatile. However, (forecaster) John Kettley has been in touch and he said there could be up to an inch of rain between now and Friday next week."

As for the fact did they get any rain over night......I was driving through Cheltenham at about 3am and it was windy and raining, lots of surface water on the roads.  With the water table so high at the moment it won't take much to sodden the ground again. It simply will not have the conditions to dry out a massive it amount...it drains well there as you know but that will just stop it getting heavy...  I think it will go the same as last year definately soft on the first day..perhaps drying as the week goes on, but if there is further rain during the festival it could get a bit softer.  With the new ground saved for the last day I dont think it will be heavy though.

looks promising on accuweather.com, "abundant sunshine" !!!, although this far away its guesswork rather than accurate forecasting !!!!

Sheriff mine came from a link on Twitter.

That quote from Claisse (the good to soft in places one) is in the Racing Post today.

I still think they'll be watering.

think about it. We've had the most ludicrous, ridiculous, stupid amount of rain imaginable - and yet after a couple of dry days there is already patches of good to soft?!

That's a measure of how quick Cheltenham drains.