Promising forecast ahead for Trials Day at Cheltenham following a harsh -10C freeze

Seven days after a blank Saturday for jump racing in Britain, the track is preparing for its last eight-race card before the festival. This event will feature significant warm-up races for the Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle. The clerk of the course, Jon Pullin, assessed the conditions and stated that the track had experienced freezing temperatures last week, reaching as low as -10C, which was the lowest temperature recorded during his time there. However, the temperatures have since risen and the track is now frost-free. Pullin also mentioned that they expect lighter showers and temperatures up to 12C for the rest of the week. He believes that if they receive the predicted amount of rainfall, the ground on Saturday will be fairly similar to the current conditions, which are different from earlier in the season when the ground was softer.

In terms of other races, Cheltenham has taken on the Clarence House Chase from Ascot. The Rossington Main Novices’ Hurdle will take place at Haydock, and the Warfield Mares’ Hurdle has been added to the Great Yorkshire Chase meeting at Doncaster. The clerk of the course at Doncaster, Paul Barker, commented on the recent temperatures and the condition of the ground. He stated that they experienced temperatures as low as -6C last week, which impacted the ground. However, he was pleased with how well it has recovered and mentioned that there are still some areas of frost but overall, the ground is in good condition. The hurdle course is currently good to soft, with some areas being good, and the chase course is good, with some areas being good to soft.

Looking ahead to the upcoming weekend, Barker mentioned that Tuesday is expected to be a wet day, but the weather is set to improve from then onwards with the occasional passing shower. The amount of rain they receive on Monday and Tuesday will determine the ground conditions, but Barker doesn’t expect it to be too easy.