Cheltenham passes surprise snap inspection geegeez.co.uk

Racing at Cheltenham will go ahead as planned this afternoon after the track passed what was a surprise snap inspection called for 10.30am.

Temperatures fell to below freezing overnight, leaving a concern the ground had not thawed as quickly as hoped, albeit officials remained positive.

The first race on Festival Trials day is scheduled for 12.40, with superstar hurdler Constitution Hill the star attraction in the Unibet Hurdle at 3.00.

Clerk of the course Jon Pullin said: “The ground temperatures have been below zero since 4am and actually got as low as minus 2.7C and have stayed below zero longer than the forecast.

“While 99 per cent of the track was perfectly raceable we just had old divots from old meetings that were crusty and we just thought we needed to take the opportunity to take a look and just make sure we were confident that by 12.40pm today we were safe to race.

“It’s fine now and we’ve got the treading team out there now and anything they find they are removing. But temperatures are rising all the time and due to peak at 6 or 7C so by the time of the first race we will be perfectly raceable.”