Big Cheltenham race could be cancelled amid brutal weather conditions
The course for the cross country chase on Wednesday will be inspected on Wednesday morning
Cheltenham officials have said the cross country chase on Wednesday could fall victim to the weather with parts of the course waterlogged.
Irish trainers have all the favourites in the race which is due to be run at 4.10pm on Wednesday. Delta Work, Minella Indo, Galvin and Coko Beach have been heading the market for the race.
It is the only race of the week in doubt as it is run on a specific cross country course in the centre of Prestbury Park.
The racecourse released a statement on Tuesday morning just hours before the 2024 festival is due to get underway. A statement read: "Following 6mm of rainfall overnight, which is a significant change from the 2mm-4mm initially forecast, and with a further 4mm-6mm forecast today, there will now be an inspection on the Cross Country course at 8am tomorrow (Wednesday).
"The Cross Country course is currently waterlogged in places. In the unfortunate event that the Cross Country course fails tomorrow's inspection, we are working alongside the BHA on a contingency plan for the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase to be run on Friday, March 15, Gold Cup Day. We will keep everyone informed as and when decisions have been made," they added.
The rest of the races are run across the New and Old courses at Cheltenham which is wet but is not in any danger from inspection.
"The Old and New Course have taken the rain well and the Going is now Soft, Heavy in Places," the statement concluded.