Cheltenham Festival race ABANDONEd and race times changed with track ‘unraceable’
A CHELTENHAM Festival race has been abandoned and parts of the circuit are ‘unraceable’ after a deluge of rain.
Today’s big Cross Country Chase has been canceled entirely after a circuit inspection.
The hope was to hold the race on Friday if conditions had not improved this morning.
But the Jockey Club has decided to cancel the race altogether as the weather is unlikely to improve.
The knock-on effect of that decision means that the times of four races will be changed, with the first starting fifteen minutes later than planned.
A statement read: “After 11mm of rain yesterday there has been no improvement in conditions on the Cross-Country course and with parts of the circuit unrideable the Glenfarclas Cross-Country Chase has unfortunately been abandoned.
“Forecasts for the remainder of the week remain uncertain, with further showers likely on both Thursday and Friday.
“There will therefore be insufficient improvement in the Cross-Country course on Friday 15 March and it has been decided not to reschedule the Glenfarclas Cross-Country Chase at The Festival.
“As a result of the cancellation of the 5th race today, the revised race times for Wednesday March 13 are as follows:
“Race 1: 1345, Race 2: 1430, Race 3: 1515, Race 4: 1600, Race 5: NA, Race 6: 1650, Race 7: 1730.
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“The New Year’s Eve course is soft, heavy in some places.”
Gordon Elliott’s Delta work had rocketed to the top of the Cross Country betting as the ground at Cheltenham was soaked.
His defending champion, who was around 2-1, would face former Gold Cup winner Minella Indo.
Rachael Blackmore, who bagged the first winner on day one, would ride Indo, who had long been the favorite for the post.
Elliott, who loves this race, would also saddle second favorite Coko Beach, while Willie Mullins, who looks set to bash the bookmakers again, was set to run Stattler.
More to follow.
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