Cheltenham 'very lucky' to avoid the worst of Storm Eunice

Cheltenham's clerk of the course Jon Pullin believes the track was "very lucky" to escape without any damage to its facilities ahead of next month's festival despite being at the heart of Storm Eunice on Friday.

The course in Gloucestershire was on the northern edge of the red 'danger to life' warning area set by the Met Office on Friday, and despite some fence wings being blown over temporary facilities put up specifically for the Cheltenham Festival suffered no structural damage during the severe gusts that struck the track.

Pullin said late on Friday afternoon: "It certainly looks as if we're through the worst of it now. We've had gusts just over 50mph through the late morning and early afternoon, but we're in a really positive place at the moment.

"There was no work taking place there today and it was a closed site on the back of the forecast. There's been no structural damage caused today at all.

The temporary structures at Cheltenham survived the impact of Storm Eunice on FridayCredit: Edward Whitaker

"The temporary tented village is in a great place and there's nothing major out there damaged on the track either. We've been very lucky."

While fellow south-west track Wincanton was badly damaged during the brunt of Storm Eunice, which battered Britain and Ireland, the narrow miss means Pullin and his team can focus fully on final preparations for the Cheltenham Festival next month.

He added: "We're very much looking forward to the Cheltenham Festival now and the excitement is building throughout the team here. We can't wait."

Read more:

'A fence has been blown apart' – Wincanton and Haydock meetings in the balance

'It was getting pretty scary by third lot' – Nicky Henderson battles the storm

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