Latest Going Reports

Scottish news tonight giving a heads up to a very deep area of low pressure forming in the Atlantic and forecast to hit the UK on Tuesday. Potential to become a named storm apparently. Heavy rain and serve gales. The last thing we need !!!

Ya, steady rain forecast from tuesday right into Gold Cup day; not much about 20mm - 25mm excluding this weekend's negligible  amount.

If you get the deluge we had here overnight
Irish eyes will be more than smiling

from the f/c I can see no appreciable rain between now & monday...g/s start
heavy rain f/c for tues

as of yesterday...g/s, soft places (6.4)
softer places in the usual areas going away from the stands & down the hill between 3 & 2 out on the hurdles (old) course
majority g/s

If you get the deluge we had here overnight
Irish eyes will be more than smiling

Irish flag makers will be smiling, along with favourite backers in the Prestbury Cup market but why the f would ordinary Irish punters welcome a deluge that throws this season's Irish form book up in the air?

If the latest BBC forecast is correct there is no way it will be good-to-soft. Decent band of rain due tonight, then mainly dry through Sunday/Monday but a very serious band of very heavy rain on Tuesday morning. Backing soft (7/4) and heavy (8/1) looks a licence to print money (famous last words)

My only worry is that the Tuesday may be abandoned due to the high winds and rain making it unsafe with all the marquees - same thing happened on the Wednesday about a decade ago.

If that forecast for Tuesday strikes for at least a two hour period between 6-1pm the ground will be at least soft. The numbers in the Arkle bar wouldn’t pass a health and safety check either

Met Office

Outlook for Monday to Wednesday:
Monday sees a largely dry, bright day. A wet and windy spell early on Tuesday is replaced by heavy, blustery showers and bright spells, these continuing into Wednesday with gales.

Irish form book has been up in the air all winter

The BBC now mentioning the possible named storm. Strangely their app and on line forecasts bear no resemblance to that. The charts this morning are concerning to say the least. IF (note the big if) they are accurate racing would definitely be in some jeopardy. Gusts 70-80 mph mentioned this morning for Tuesday moderating to "just" Gale force for Wednesday. Why ? Why this one week ffs.

the met office forecast i'm looking at doesn't look too bad for Tues but Wednesday looks decidedly iffy.

What met office ?
BBC are saying heavy rain Tuesday ?

^ rain isn't as much of a problem as high winds

Heavy rain Tuesday ......hhhhmmmmmm
Let's see Simon wriggle his way out of this one

What do you mean ?
They haven't moved on in ten years and found any improvements in wind proof accommodation ?
You will be telling us it's the wrong type of snow next

It looks to be the same temporary structures used year in year out to me. They will be wind proof but only to a level. Also Tuesday morning looks a rotten day to be around town or making your way up to the track. I really don't care what the going is I just want it on !

9:53AM GMT 12 Mar 2008
Today's racing at the Cheltenham Festival meeting has been abandoned after high winds caused the tented village to be evacuated.
managing director Edward Gillespie said: "We had a forecast last night indicating that wind speeds would gust over 50mph, up to and including 3pm this afternoon.

At the moment they are predicting gusts on the Weds in the 45-50mph range between noon & 3pm.
Obviously that is a guesstimate but............

With the rain that has fallen - all of which was in historic forecasts - and the rain that is currently forecast for next week it does beg the question as to why Claisse thought it necessary and appropriate to water selectively the week before last.

Claisse needs the job.
All he does is tickle the BHA's bollox
His decision is the most unreliable in racing.
Owners, trainers and jockeys
Do not spend their time
Running or walking the track on
The morning of the race for nothing
Its the same wherever you go
The going stick is not trusted either
Go and walk the course yourself, its so variable

The days of walking the track Sunday morning are finished unless you have permission to do so.,slowly but surely the fun is been taken out of British racing.plenty of tracks now no longer let you go by the fences or go out in the middle they now encourage people to go who have no interest in horse racing ,those who do are not much use to them .

To be fair to cheltenham they recognise that foxy
There is a one day when you can go down there
About 11 a m and walk out on the course
You can also go in the middle for the cross country
Thats always a good guide because you cross
Both tracks and the drainage area in the middle

You are spot on with encouragement though
Years ago i used to run round epsom
Then one day i was stopped on the track
Taken in and questioned by the anti terrorist unit
Fecked if i knew charles was going to the derby that year

Yes I realise Cheltenham are pretty good with you been allowed in the middle depending on the underfoot conditions which is fair enough,didn’t know the still allowed you to walk the course in the days leading up to the festival,by the way 25 miles from the course damp and wet all night light rain now.

Hope we don’t get bad ground regardless of what preferences your horses have bad ground spoils everything.

On another note what a good card at naas today

yellow weather warning for high winds on Weds now

Cheltenham weather - Met Office
Yellow warning
Wind

00:15 Wed 13 UTC 15:00 Wed 13

Strong northwesterly winds are expected during Wednesday with possible transport disruption.

not looking good, could be attritional

CHELTENHAM
Latest update 7:36 this morning:


The Festival 12th - 15th March
Next Race Meeting  12/03/2019
Report Date  10/03/2019 07:36:00
Official Going  Chase (Old and New) Good to Soft, Soft (in places) Hurdle (Old and New) Good to Soft, Soft (in places) Cross Country: Good to Soft, Soft (in places)
Rails  For Rail Movements refer to https://www.britishhorseracing.com/racing/fixtures/
   
Weather:
Blustery with up to 5mm rainfall by Monday evening. A further
10mm Tuesday morning, followed by a windy afternoon with
showers.

geoff

No mention of hail/ snow/ a flash of lightning followed by an enormous clap of thunder!!!!

All just happened - if I was a bit techie I would download a copy of the white field adjoining my house - six miles from the course.

Is it snowing in Cheltenham ?

Hans

there has just been a serious hail storm which has turned the ground white - blue sky now.

quite a freakish feel in the air until the lightning

my folks 1 mile from course have just had big storm

thunder and lightning with huge hail storm

power went off as well

Can anyone see the ground being called good to soft as the final call before the Supreme? Heavy looks a big price at 15 if the weather comes in tomorrow night? Soft at best you'd think.

Depends what it's like tomorrow.

A dry warmish day and they'll have the sprinklers on by 4 o'clock.

If it rains as per the forecast he will call soft as it is nowhere near as bad as last year

A dry warmish day and they'll have the sprinklers on by 4 o'clock.

rofl - nice one Sawyer!

yes sewter a poster on the horses forum also said it pished down at chelt ,thunder lightning and hail not sure how long for tho

what about the irish horses getting the ferry over ? would be setting off now.

Ah Sure The Boat Will Float Better

Going stick reading was 6.2 on Sunday. Dropping day by day as the rain gets into the ground. I don’t expect today’s reading will be much different even though today is expected to stay dry.

It won’t take a lot of rain on Tuesday morning to push the stick reading to the sort of level we saw at the start of last year’s Festival (when the going was officially described as Heavy, Soft in places but subsequently revised to Soft, Heavy in places).

Irish trainers will be licking their lips having waited all winter for the ground they’re likely to get at Cheltenham this week.

My hope remains that the rain won’t fall in the large quantities predicted.

looks to be canny bit rain tomorrow morning then sunny in he afternoon.

My hope to

SOFT and extremely WINDY Tuesday ...Storm on its way Tuesday morning !

Going report just updated. No change. Stick reading (@7am) unchanged also.

So  zfter all that ....

Heavy side of soft .....

no rain in sight yet at cheltenham

One might need to be up to witness light rain descending at about 3am for a 12hr spell. Similarly, another long one for thursday and friday.

no rain forecast after Tuesday now bar an outside chance of shower Friday.
winds are the issue, how many races need to be run to avoid refunds

How can their be so much variance
In the weather forecasting over there
I got ponies that magically disappear
Into their shed about ten minutes
Before a bad storm
And if the woodcocks are down from the hills
We are going to get snow
Its that fecking easy .......

How can their be so much variance
In the weather forecasting over there
I got ponies that magically disappear
Into their shed about ten minutes
Before a bad storm
And if the woodcocks are down from the hills
We are going to get snow
Its that fecking easy .......

Forecast I’m seeing is worst of rain to be past by time of 1st race

LASHING WIND AND RAIN ALL MORNING

It's coming - and looks pretty bad.

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/observation/rainfall-radar#?map=Rainfall&fcTime=1552333800&zoom=5&lon=-4.00&lat=55.45

Good to soft is the official going according to ITV?

Looks like they've missed most of the expected rain

Raining heavily now. This might start soft, good to soft in places.

officially soft now

Guess it's pretty soft right now.
Updates most welcome.

claisse has just inspected the course,on stepping out of his canoe he said its good to soft with a soft patch at the bottom of the home straight

......and that he intends to start light watering on Monday, assuming Storm Dennis has blown through by then

As long as it's not Venice racing will take place regardless, why? Tiger Roll needs it otherwise Grand National a fantasy.

Tomorrows forecast is for 24 heavy
RAIN

Not sure how much temporary scaffolding is already up

Boat race starts Sunday 8.00 am

Been raining heavy
In the local press there is a COV-19 SCARE

NOT SURE if THIS WILL BE CONFIRMED

I guess its pretty much waterlogged at this current time.

....not saying it's bad but the shipping forecast currently goes 'Tyne, Dogger, Fisher....Gloucestershire'

7 of the next 10 days have rain forecast at Cheltenham!
Hopefully the days after that are dry, otherwise more favourites will win in my opinion. Yawn

The long range forecast is unsettled until the Friday before the festival. So things can change, but the last bit of rain is forecast to fall on the Friday evening and then the next 7 days are dry.
So this will atleast mean they won’t water the track, with the meeting probably starting on soft, with maybe a bit of good to soft in places on the Tuesday, and by the Friday good to soft, good in places with a bit of luck!

I would settle for that.

You have great faith in the forecasters my general experience is they struggle to get it right a couple of days in advance.

Hope they are right though.

Yeah it’s only a guide..... rain now predicted on the Saturday aswell :(.
Could be a dry, yet cold week though!

I thought the BHA had him by the nuts. I was totally wrong. He knows that track inside out and spends most of his time cheltenham week playing public relations. He has the BHA by the nuts. Very intelligent man ! Vast majority of groundsmen couldnt handle Cheltenham.

You know the Festival is just around the corner when Simon Claisse starts hitting the airwaves. Going is currently described as Soft, Heavy in places. No great surprise given it's been Soft since October.

"The forecast for the next seven days remains unsettled with further spells of rain, and as such that I would envisage still being predominantly soft by the end of next week. It doesn't cause me concern at the moment, I’m very happy with where we are."

https://www.racingpost.com/news/cheltenham-countdown/cheltenham-remains-soft-with-heavy-in-places-as-wet-weather-continues/424252

Rain now predicted on the Sunday before the festival and also on World hurdle / Ryanair day.
I think I better give up on the idea of getting good ground on gold cup day :(

Rain now until the Tuesday with frost a concern with highs of 1 or 2 on a few days. The covers will no doubt help that though.

BBC, some sort of rain every day up to 6th March

Makes you laugh how people rely on a weather forecast for cheltenham
Its a human who has programed the computer
Its a human that analyses all the figures
How often are they right ?
Where can i find this proof of correct forecasts ?

I think you will find presbury is in a bowl and enjoys its own micro-climate

Summary
Stormy end of February but trending drier in March
After an extremely wet and stormy February, the weather pattern looks to shift to a drier, calmer, and milder one in March. However, February is not quite done with us yet, and a few more storms are expected in early-March. Things will likely dry out by the second full week of March, with high pressure dominating the weather until the end of the month. However, it will likely still be wet and windy at times in Scotland from weak fronts.

Saturday 29 February – Sunday 8 March
Stormy weekends bookend a calmer, cool week.
Storm Jorge will be moving across the UK this weekend bringing its full force to bear on Saturday. Strong winds for most of the country with heavy rain in the southwest and hill snow for North England and Scotland will make for quite the stormy day. Conditions will ease somewhat by Sunday, but it will still be quite breezy across the country, and snow is still likely in Scottish hills.

Heading into the working week, Storm Jorge will abate as the weather turns a bit more benign for a time. The jet stream, a ribbon of fast-moving air in the upper atmosphere that drives weather systems, will dip south. Lately it has been over the UK giving us plenty of stormy weather in February, but as it heads south it will instead send those weather systems into Spain and Portugal. As a result, it will be a bit drier than it has been recently, but also feeling a bit colder than normal. Some overnight frosts are likely this week making for some crisp mornings. It won't necessarily be completely dry though, especially in Scotland. Some rain is still likely in the west as well, which may drift into central and eastern areas occasionally.

Heading into the first weekend of March, there are increasingly strong signals for yet another storm to move in from the west, bringing some wet and windy weather for the weekend. This would make the fifth consecutive weekend of unsettled weather! Confidence is only medium, however, as some models show a ridge of high pressure instead.

Monday 9 March – Sunday 15 March
Rain shifting north. More settled in the south.
Heading into the second full working week in March in the wake of the anticipated stormy weekend, we expect high pressure to build in by around midweek. This will mean that the weather pattern will change to a more settled, drier, and milder one. Temperatures will tend to be above average, but this will be most pronounced in the South as the high feeds in warmer sub-tropical air.

Low pressure will be pushed away to the north nearer to Iceland, but weak weather fronts will likely still be able to reach into Scotland and perhaps Northern Ireland. This will create a bit of a north-south split in the weather, with Wales and England being largely fine and dry while Scotland and Northern Ireland are wetter and windier. However, it will not be nearly as stormy as it has been, as these fronts are likely to be rather weak features.

The main uncertainty this week is how quickly high pressure will become established over the UK. It may take a bit longer than midweek, which would prolong the unsettled and cooler weather. The forecast models haven't quite made their minds up yet on when they might happen, but we do expect high pressure to be in place by the end of the working week.

So basically, if they have this right ( ) Another unsettled week ahead followed by yet another storm ridden following weekend ( imperial cup weekend ) and then a gradual improvement from midweek onwards. ( maybe the following weekend will be the turning point ) but unclear. Perhaps better weather for Cheltenham or maybe after ( unclear )

There4 Claisse will call it , Soft good to soft in places and drying out slowly.

Maybe later in the week on the new course is where you will see the better ground ?????

Top temps of 16 festival week! :)

http://maps.turftrax.co.uk/latestgoingreport.asp?course=Cheltenham

claisse says might be some good to soft by weekend,thats claisse speak for has anyone seen my hosepipe

Summary
Further wet and windy weather for a time.
After the wettest February on record for the UK, further wet and windy weather looks likely for a time. However, there are still signs that England and Wales should become less wet later this month. Scotland and Northern Ireland look more likely to experience a persistence of wet conditions throughout the coming month.

Wednesday 4 March – Sunday 8 March
Wet and windy at times, most widely this weekend.
The coming days will be unsettled at times. Wednesday will be quite chilly and mostly cloudy with outbreaks of rain spreading eastwards through the day. However, some northern areas, including much of Scotland, will stay brighter with just a scattering of showers.

After a wet night for some, Thursday should see any rain clearing eastwards to leave brighter skies. However, it will be quite chilly again. Some north-western parts of the UK will continue to see showers, these wintry over upland areas. For Friday, there is some uncertainty over the details of the forecast but it is likely to be showery for some. The greatest chance of showery rain is in the south and west.

This weekend, strengthening south-westerly winds are likely to be accompanied by more widespread outbreaks of rain. However, the winds will at least bring in milder air with temperatures rising a little above the average. Wettest conditions appear likely to be in the west and north-west of the UK where local flooding is possible.

Monday 9 March – Sunday 15 March
Another often wet and windy week.
Indications are now for a persistence of unsettled weather through the second full week of March.

Showers and bands of rain are likely to spread from west to east across the country, bringing above-average rainfall. The rain is likely to be accompanied by strong winds at times, too. Therefore, there will continue to be the risk of local flooding and river levels could continue to be high at times. The greatest likelihood of strong winds appears to be around the middle part of the week.

Despite the unsettled conditions, it is not expected to be particularly cold. Any snowfall should be largely confined to upland areas in the north of the UK. Occasional frosts would be expected, though, under any lengthier clear periods at night.

There now appears to be reduced chances of a lengthier drier and calmer period of weather developing through the week. However, a drier and calmer scenario cannot be completely ruled out at this stage.

SOFT / HEAVY it is then. At least the form through the winter may well hold up unless the horse has been over raced.

Soft all over. Going stick reading of 6.2 suggests that "Good to Soft in places" might make an appearance in the going description sometime soon if the rain stays away.

http://maps.turftrax.co.uk/latestgoingreport.asp?course=Cheltenham

Fingers crossed it goes ahead.

Quite a bit of rain expected on Monday afternoon could turn that ground to maybe soft, heavy in places! Envoi Allen to the supreme if it’s heavy!
https://www.metcheck.com/WEATHER/16days.asp?zipcode=Cheltenham&locationID=57...

Met Office are now saying little or no rain on Saturday, light rain through Sunday and Monday, dry start to the festival on Tuesday and very little rain Wednesday. Good to soft by the first on Tuesday!

BBC Weather says strong winds and heavy rain on Monday  with light rain on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday too.

bbc said light rain in south london this morning ,it  pished down non stop from 9 till 7 tonite .

More total.bowlux on here
Cheltenham rests in a bowl
It has its own micro climate
Claisse is a shrewd operator
Only way to know for definite
A) walk the course yerself
B) watch how good the irish horses are doing, if its heavy they will be pi55ing in

Tony Calvin
@tony_calvin
·
32m
Everything i am hearing is that Cheltenham will start on heavy ground, official or not

Its been a glorious day here today after a frosty start - almost warm enough to take my coat off

Any updates from people nearby ?

Thanks In Advance.

No rain yet

Rain tonight i think.

Thanks Lucky ...... Like that Username.

GL

Lite rain now
Expected to stay until 8.00 am

S.O.F.T.

At least on days 1 and 2

day 2 will be the harder work as it may be drying out so you will get the tacky muck #needtheconfirmedstayers

Simon Claisse still talking soft side of good on Friday fresh ground.

Is it heavy rain now anyone know?
BBC saying that apparently.