The overnight storms in the UK have received plenty of publicity but how will they actually affect the going for the 2008 Cheltenham Festival?

The Rain

There were varying reports of how much rain would fall but the actual amount given by the clerk of the course is 10mm. There should be another 3-4mm today and 2mm overnight.

The Wind

Wind has a drying effect on the ground so plenty more rain would be required for the 10mm so far to have full effect. If the wind continues all week then expect very dry ground by the end of the week.

The Official Going

The ground on the old course is good, good to soft in places. The ground on the new course is good to soft, good in places and the ground on the cross country course has been left as good.

The Week Ahead

So we are going to start the Festival off with good to soft ground and it should dry throughout the week. By Thursday it should definitely be riding good and it might even be verging on good to firm by Friday unless there is more rain throughout the week. Hopefully there will be enough showers to stop the clerk of the course finding it necessary to turn on the taps.

What Horses To Back

Back horses who have won at least on good to soft at the start of the week and keep an eye out for good ground horses by Friday. Horses that have only ever won in the mud are highly unlikely to be suited.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 10th, 2008 at 11:18 am and is filed under Cheltenham Festival. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.