Cheltenham Festival Going

I live in Cheltenham and would say the ground is probably better than this time last year.

Last season for the Nov meet the going was heavy, this season it was g/s
For December it was good this season, last season was heavy
New Years day and trials day were both heavy for each year
 
So my point was that the course has had less rain on it that this time last year.
However, that could all go to pot it it hoses down for weeks on end.
If we have a couple of dry weeks they will water
 
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Thanks lads. Interesting to hear that perhaps it's better ground at present than this time last year. The really dry summer/Autumn maybe having some sort of a knock on affect. Very dry/mild early winter here too. It's only since Christmas that it's started bucketing down. Hopefully we get good/soft ground but it would really want to stop raining soon.
 
I've already had a word. He knows the score. If I see so much as a sprinkler within a mile of the place. It won't be pretty.
 
After what I said to him granger, he'll be out with the buckets and dryers as we speak.
 
tiggers1972 said:
Last season for the Nov meet the going was heavy, this season it was g/s
For December it was good this season, last season was heavy
New Years day and trials day were both heavy for each year
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Last year saw a dreadful summer which meant that the ground went from easy to desperate very quickly. The Open meeting actually started on good to soft, and turned nearly unraceable after just 7 mm of rain on Saturday morning.

New Year's Day 2013 wasn't heavy, although only because it was abandoned (or cancelled, for the pedants), and last February was blighted by frosts and snow. The key to the Festival going will be how much precipitation we have in the next 2 weeks.
 
Not a foregone conclusion it will be soft by any means . Latest Met Office monthly outlook today states

Monday 3 March—Sunday 16 March
Improvement is on the cards
The signs in the extended forecast point towards an improvement in the weather towards mid-March. The main focus of Atlantic low pressure systems is expected to shift further north during this period allowing areas of high pressure to push into southern areas.
 
Ardross said:
Not a foregone conclusion it will be soft by any means . Latest Met Office monthly outlook today states

Monday 3 March—Sunday 16 March
Improvement is on the cards
The signs in the extended forecast point towards an improvement in the weather towards mid-March. The main focus of Atlantic low pressure systems is expected to shift further north during this period allowing areas of high pressure to push into southern areas.
Click to expand...

Anything beyond five days is guesswork. But it is fun predicting.

I'm predicting soft on the Tuesday, based on the premise that we are bound to have soft because we haven't had that for a quite a few years now. It won't take much rain to make it soft, either, even after a dry spell - the last two GCs have been run on soft after it rained moderately on the Friday.
 
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Len Madeiros said:
Anything beyond five days is guesswork. But it is fun predicting.

I'm predicting soft on the Tuesday, based on the premise that we are bound to have soft because we haven't had that for a quite a few years now. It won't take much rain to make it soft, either, even after a dry spell - the last two GCs have been run on soft after it rained moderately on the Friday.
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That's often because they have watered so heavily ! If the ground is springy good they may not do so .
 
Few decent spring days here weather wise the past while. Hopefully the worst of the rain has passed over now. Same in Cheltenham??
 
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