Waterlogged Cheltenham abandoned

This afternoon’s high-profile meeting at Cheltenham has had to be abandoned due to a waterlogged track.

The track was hit by a substantial amount of rain overnight and although conditions were described as raceable this morning, track officials announced a 9.30am precautionary inspection as the rain showed no signs of relenting.

After checking the track, officials were left with little option but to call off the card with surface water now on parts on parts of the course.

Cheltenham’s managing director Andy Clifton said: “It’s bad news I’m afraid and we’ve had to abandon the meeting.

“We’ve had 26 millimetres of rain in the last 10 hours and it’s still rain so there is surface water in various places.

“The forecast is for it to continue raining and the only sensible decision to take is to call off the meeting.”