Cheltenham top brass are “reasonably confident” Friday’s card will beat a precautionary 7.30am inspection on Thursday – but concede the task of staging Saturday’s International Hurdle fixture is “a bit more challenging”.
Groundstaff at National Hunt racing’s home put down frost covers on Wednesday as a forecast -5C freeze threatened the two-day meeting, at which 2020 Champion Hurdle heroine Epatante and last month’s Greatwood Handicap Hurdle victor I Like To Move It are set to cross swords in the Unibet-sponsored International Hurdle on Saturday.
Reporting temperatures to have dipped below freezing on Tuesday night, Cheltenham clerk of the course Jon Pullin said: “We are getting the covers down now and I would be hopeful the covers will do their job, given the forecast.
“We are expecting a frost on Thursday night of -5C and then temperatures are going to be slow to rise on Friday and will only get up to 1C or 2C during the day.
“Then we get another -5C Friday going into Saturday and, again the temperatures are slow to rise on Saturday, with a high of 1C.
“I’d be reasonably confident about Friday. Saturday will be a bit more challenging – we have got to get those covers back down after racing before the temperature drops too low – but we are doing all we can, and hopefully we will be OK.”
Wednesday's action at Hexham fell to the cold, while Thursday's jumps cards at Newcastle (7.30am) and Warwick (8am) face morning checks.
Thursday's programme at Bangor-On-Dee also hangs on an 8am inspection.
Meanwhile, Joe Tizzard believes War Lord will “run a lovely race” as the grey returns to two and a half miles in Cheltenham’s AIS December Gold Cup on Saturday.
In the frame when fourth in last season’s Arkle Challenge Trophy over two miles at Cheltenham and second in the two-and-a-half-mile Manifesto Novices’ Chase at Aintree, the seven-year-old stepped back in trip to finish third to Greaneteen in the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter on his reappearance.
“In the Haldon Gold Cup, if you stopped it turning in, it looked like he would drop out the back of the TV, but he stayed on quite well,” said Tizzard, whose grey is a general 7-1 chance. “I think he will run a lovely race.”
