Last Instalmen headed to England yesterday as trainer Philip Fenton delayed a decision on his participation in the Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup until the middle of the week.

Cheltenham’s clerk of the course Simon Claisse is on guard against further rain with the track shaping up nicely ahead of the Festival in just under two weeks.

This afternoon’s meeting at the Cheltenham Festival has survived an early-morning inspection and goes ahead as scheduled.

The second day of the Cheltenham Festival will go ahead as planned after the track was declared fit to race.

This afternoon’s opening day of the Cheltenham Festival is set to go ahead as planned, although the start will be delayed by 35 minutes.

Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse is satisfied the Festival can go ahead without a hitch, despite a freezing cold Monday in the Cotswolds.

Jonjo O’Neill has raised the possibility of Sunnyhillboy running in the Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Cheltenham will stage an 8am inspection of the Cross Country course on Friday.

Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse reports the ground to be on the good side as the track gears up for day one of the Festival.

Simon Claisse is prepared to water the track at Cheltenham during the meeting due to the lack of recent rain.

NICKY HENDERSON has effectively ruled Punchestowns out of the Cheltenham Festival and is considering giving the chestnut a run at the racecourse which has lent him his name.

This afternoon's meeting at Cheltenham must pass a second inspection at 10.45am.

Officials at Cheltenham have called a 3pm inspection of the cross country course ahead of tomorrow’s race.

Officials at Cheltenham remain confident this week’s two-day fixture will go ahead as scheduled as the cold weather continues to tighten its grip on National Hunt racing.

CLERK of the course Simon Claisse is confident this week’s two-day fixture at Cheltenham will beat the cold snap after officials began covering the entire track.

Clerk of the course Simon Claisse is confident this week’s two-day fixture at Cheltenham will beat the cold snap after officials began covering the entire track.

CLERK of the course Simon Claisse says he is happy with the condition of the Cheltenham track.

Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse is happy with the condition of the track as the countdown to the Festival nears its conclusion

Conditions at Cheltenham are reported to be perfect ahead of the four-day Festival that starts on Tuesday.

CHELTENHAM clerk of the course Simon Claisse expects drying conditions over the coming days as the countdown to the 2010 Festival gathers pace.

Officials at Cheltenham are taking no chances ahead of Festival Trials Day and are likely to deploy frost covers.

Cheltenham’s New Year’s Day card finally went ahead following a series of inspections that saw racing delayed in farcical scenes.

The ground at Cheltenham has eased slightly ahead of the start of the Festival meeting later today.

Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse has warned that the 2009 Festival could get underway on soft ground should the forecast rain arrive ahead of Tuesday’s curtain-raiser.

Alan King donned his wellington boots on Sunday morning to walk the track at Cheltenham and was pleased with the ground conditions.

CHELTENHAM clerk of the course Simon Claisse has no further plans to water the track ahead of next week’s Festival.

Sandown’s high-profile meeting on Saturday is the latest meeting to be thrown into doubt due to the current cold snap in the UK.

Cheltenham have given this afternoon’s meeting the green light – but doubts remain over the Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap at 1.20pm.

Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse will decide on Tuesday whether to deploy ground covers over all the Prestbury Park track ahead of this week’s Boylesports International meeting.

Sue Smith’s veteran Mister McGoldrick heads a maximum field of 20 for the first major handicap of Britain's National Hunt season, the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham.

Cheltenham are ready for action as they prepare for a welter of top-class racing over the next two days.

WHAT’S £150 million (€196m) between friends?

Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse reports further ease in the ground ahead of the first day of the Festival meeting.

One of the temporary structures at Cheltenham racecourse could be out of commission for the four-day Festival meeting after being damaged by strong winds.

Officials at Cheltenham are currently experiencing the calm before the storm - literally.

Officials at Cheltenham are taking precautions against the strong winds that are forecast to hit the area on Monday, just 24 hours before the start of the four-day Festival.

Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse anticipates having to water the course once more this weekend ahead of the start of the Festival on Tuesday week.

CHELTENHAM officials are confident next week’s four-day Festival will beat the weather, despite meetings being lost due to waterlogging almost on a daily basis in Britain.

Cheltenham officials are confident next week’s four-day Festival will beat the weather – despite meetings lost due to waterlogging almost on a daily basis over the entire country.

The possibility of soft ground at the Cheltenham Festival is still on the agenda as more rain hit Gloucestershire overnight.

Conditions are set to be testing at Cheltenham for the first time in almost 12 years for their New Year's Day meeting.

Clerk of the course Simon Claisse is anticipating good ground for the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday.

Cheltenham are still predicting ground on the slow side of good for the opening day of the Festival after a chilly Saturday night.