War on wee in Cheltenham: Punters warned to hold their horses if they feel the call of nature

Racegoers chase after the Gold Cup (Dominic Russell) ahead of day four of the 2023 Cheltenham Festival. Almost 250,000 racing fans are set to descend on the famous Cotswold racecourse for this year's festival. Picture: Tom Maher/Inpho

And they're off – thousands of Irish punters have begun the annual pilgrimage to Cheltenham for the “Olympics of jump racing” but they’ve been warned to hold their horses if they feel the call of nature in the nearby town.

Almost 250,000 racing fans are set to descend on the famous Cotswold racecourse for one of the biggest horse-racing festivals in the country, with four days of exhilarating racing culminating on Friday with the 100th anniversary of the iconic Gold Cup.