Cheltenham in 'fantastic shape' as Festival looms on the horizon

Clerk of the course Simon Claisse does not expect any significant changes to ground conditions with the Cheltenham Festival now just over a week away.The going is currently described as good to soft on the Old Course, which is used on the Tuesday and Wednesday, and good to soft, good in places on the New Course for Thursday and Friday. "The forecast remains unsettled, with bits and pieces of rain coming in during the course of the next week amounting to somewhere between nine and 11 millimetres," said Claisse. "I wouldn't expect much change in the going between now and the start of the Festival. For Festival week we're looking at temperatures of around 10C with little bits of rain here and there. "But as I've said before, the weather has been so volatile this winter and forecasts change every day, so there is uncertainty, but nothing of concern."I haven't changed the ground from Sunday, so it's good to soft on the Old Course and good to soft, good in places on the New Course and the cross-country course."We're very happy with where we are. The course looks in fantastic shape."