Cheltenham calls 7.30am inspection as wind speeds forecast to reach up to 50mph on New Year's Day

Cheltenham's New Year's Day fixture must survive a 7.30am inspection with a yellow weather warning for wind in place across parts of the south-west.

An inspection has also been called at Exeter for its fixture on Wednesday, when wind speeds could reach as high as 50mph for the first day of 2025, while in Ireland, Tramore's card will face an 8am inspection due to forecast rain. 

The highest wind speeds are forecast to come ahead of racing, and if correct, Cheltenham's clerk of the course Jon Pullin said there would be "no issues for racing".

He said on Tuesday afternoon: "Given the forecast winds and gusts of potentially 45-50mph, we just need to assess where we are with the track and course infrastructure. 

"As well as the permanent grandstands, we have a lot of temporary infrastructure in place for the festival, and this fixture usually attracts around 30,000, so we just need to see how it fares.

"At the moment, the winds are forecast to die down very quickly at 10am in the morning. If that's the case, there should be no issues for racing, but we just need the opportunity to assess what the overnight winds do."

Shakem Up'Arry: landed the feature 2m4f handicap chase on Cheltenham's New Year's Day card last yearCredit: Edward Whitaker

The ground is good to soft but heavy rain is expected on New Year's Day morning.

Pullin added: "We could get 2-3mm of rain this evening and then heavier rain through the morning, which will continue potentially longer than the wind until about 11am. We're looking at around 10mm."

Course officials will also assess conditions at Exeter at 7.30am with similar wind speeds forecast in Devon. The track was forced to abandon a meeting in November due to structural damage caused by wind from Storm Bert, despite having passed an initial inspection.

Exeter's clerk of the course Jason Loosemore said: "It'll be blowy overnight and peak in the morning, but we should blow out by 9-10am. I'm not concerned about the track with rain coming, but we had some issues with the storm a few weeks ago and I don't want to see a repeat of that. We'll look in the morning and make sure we're safe."

Southwell’s New Year’s Day fixture, featuring a £75,000 2m handicap hurdle, was cancelled in 2024 due to heavy overnight rain, but clerk of the course John Holliday is not anticipating a repeat despite forecast rain and strong winds.

“We’re not expecting any problems, with the wind dying down before racing,” he said. “It might look a bit messy with the rain, but it’s nice ground and we’re all looking forward to the day.”

More weather news:

Tramore to inspect ahead of New Year's Day fixture with 20mm of rain possible before racing

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