Diamond Geezer
Gone But Not Forgotten
- Joined
- May 2, 2003
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From RP
CHELTENHAM officials were on Sunday night bracing themselves for a possible eve-of-festival evacuation, as the spectre of severe gales threatened to wreak havoc with preparations.
Managing director Edward Gillespie is taking no chances, and said on Sunday afternoon: “We've taken off the roof of the Guinness stand as a precaution. We've chosen to do that now because, if the winds were to be very strong and cause it to tear tonight or tomorrow morning, we would not have time to sort it out ready for Tuesday.
“We simply can't take any chances this close to the festival, so we're doing all we can to minimise the risks.
“We need to ensure everything is in place for the start of the meeting on Tuesday, so we've told all our staff that it may be necessary to have the bulk of their work finished by tonight.
“We've also informed them of the possible need to evacuate the course if the winds are very strong tomorrow as, if that turns out to be the case, there may be debris flying about.
“We've told staff that, whatever they're doing, they may need to move out quickly, and we feel that it's much better to have them all informed of the potential problems in advance, insteadof waiting until a difficulty arises.”
A memo issued to staff on Sunday, and seen by the Racing Post, instructed: “Once wind speed approaches 40mph, all areas below the horsewalk will be evacuated.
“All catering staff, catering suppliers and contractors for the entire site (not just below the horsewalk), should proceed to the Centaur building.”
The likelihood of severe gales hitting the track was assessed at “40 per cent” by a Met Office spokesman on Sunday, down from 70 per cent 24 hours earlier.
The spokesman said: “There is a 40 per cent chance Cheltenham will be affected by severe gales, either overnight on Sunday or during the rush-hour period on Monday morning.
“A band of exceptionally low pressure is expected to sweep into southern and south-western England and Wales in that period, bringing winds gusting up to 60-70mph.
“It looks set to be very stormy, with the potential for structural damage and disruption to traffic movement.”
Gillespie added: “We're awareof the downgraded change to the weather forecast, which is very welcome, but we have to prepare for the worst, just in case the revised predictions prove inaccurate, so we're making provisions based on what needs to be done to complete the work safely.”
Francois Doumen was a relieved trainer at Auteuil on Sunday. He said: “I only heard on Saturday that if I didn't travel my horses quickly, I wouldn't be able to do so for three days.
“I made a last-minute change of plan and I know my horses have arrived in England. They were at Calais at ten yesterday morning, but were made to wait a little for another boat which had stabilisers.”
Doumen's runners are L'Ami (William Hill Trophy) and Grand Schlem (Fred Winter) on Tuesday, and Kasbah Bliss (World Hurdle) and Onnix (Pertemps Final) on Thursday.
No further watering will be carried out at Cheltenham, where 3mm of rain fell on Saturday, mainly overnight, and the official going report has been amended marginally.
Clerk of the course Simon Claisse said on Sunday: “We are good on the Old course; good on the cross-country course; good, good to soft in places on the New course.
“We've been told to expect 1mm of rain today, 9-11mm tomorrow and 3-4mm on Tuesday, so we've decided not to water again.”
CHELTENHAM officials were on Sunday night bracing themselves for a possible eve-of-festival evacuation, as the spectre of severe gales threatened to wreak havoc with preparations.
Managing director Edward Gillespie is taking no chances, and said on Sunday afternoon: “We've taken off the roof of the Guinness stand as a precaution. We've chosen to do that now because, if the winds were to be very strong and cause it to tear tonight or tomorrow morning, we would not have time to sort it out ready for Tuesday.
“We simply can't take any chances this close to the festival, so we're doing all we can to minimise the risks.
“We need to ensure everything is in place for the start of the meeting on Tuesday, so we've told all our staff that it may be necessary to have the bulk of their work finished by tonight.
“We've also informed them of the possible need to evacuate the course if the winds are very strong tomorrow as, if that turns out to be the case, there may be debris flying about.
“We've told staff that, whatever they're doing, they may need to move out quickly, and we feel that it's much better to have them all informed of the potential problems in advance, insteadof waiting until a difficulty arises.”
A memo issued to staff on Sunday, and seen by the Racing Post, instructed: “Once wind speed approaches 40mph, all areas below the horsewalk will be evacuated.
“All catering staff, catering suppliers and contractors for the entire site (not just below the horsewalk), should proceed to the Centaur building.”
The likelihood of severe gales hitting the track was assessed at “40 per cent” by a Met Office spokesman on Sunday, down from 70 per cent 24 hours earlier.
The spokesman said: “There is a 40 per cent chance Cheltenham will be affected by severe gales, either overnight on Sunday or during the rush-hour period on Monday morning.
“A band of exceptionally low pressure is expected to sweep into southern and south-western England and Wales in that period, bringing winds gusting up to 60-70mph.
“It looks set to be very stormy, with the potential for structural damage and disruption to traffic movement.”
Gillespie added: “We're awareof the downgraded change to the weather forecast, which is very welcome, but we have to prepare for the worst, just in case the revised predictions prove inaccurate, so we're making provisions based on what needs to be done to complete the work safely.”
Francois Doumen was a relieved trainer at Auteuil on Sunday. He said: “I only heard on Saturday that if I didn't travel my horses quickly, I wouldn't be able to do so for three days.
“I made a last-minute change of plan and I know my horses have arrived in England. They were at Calais at ten yesterday morning, but were made to wait a little for another boat which had stabilisers.”
Doumen's runners are L'Ami (William Hill Trophy) and Grand Schlem (Fred Winter) on Tuesday, and Kasbah Bliss (World Hurdle) and Onnix (Pertemps Final) on Thursday.
No further watering will be carried out at Cheltenham, where 3mm of rain fell on Saturday, mainly overnight, and the official going report has been amended marginally.
Clerk of the course Simon Claisse said on Sunday: “We are good on the Old course; good on the cross-country course; good, good to soft in places on the New course.
“We've been told to expect 1mm of rain today, 9-11mm tomorrow and 3-4mm on Tuesday, so we've decided not to water again.”