Hallowed turf of Cheltenham braces for Irish invasion

AS the exodus of more than 7,000 racing faithful begins from ports and airports across the country today, racing festival staff in Cheltenham are gearing up for a bumper three-day festival.

Racecourse caterers will employ 3,000 staff to serve 27,000 meals, 14,000 bottles of champagne, 20,000 bottles of wine and 250,000 pints of draught beer, lager and Guinness over the three-day event.

And if any of the many Irish hopefuls like Limestone Lad, Beef or Salmon and Moscow Flyer come up trumps, they'll sell a lot, lot more.