CHELTENHAM chiefs are starting to feel a little anxious at the recent lack of rain.
So much so that clerk of the course Jon Pullin has started watering already, with the meeting still three weeks away.
The ongoing dry spell meant Fakenham were forced to cancel their jumps fixture on Friday because of the 'quickest ground in 25 years'.
Newbury are currently under watering restrictions, so their Sunday meeting only attracted 27 runners across seven races.
The opening race on the valuable card ended up being an embarrassing walkover, with Nicky Henderson withdrawing his runner because he felt the ground was too firm.
Pullin and his team have been scanning the weather charts and there doesn't appear to be much of the wet stuff coming anytime soon.
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So he turned decided to turn the taps on on Monday morning, with the whole course given a 15mm soaking.
His aim is to produce ground on the slow side of good for the opening day on March 14, so watering will likely continue if no rain arrives.
He told the Racing Post: "The weather is certainly proving to be a challenge. It's a continuing dry spell, which has been the story since the summer, when it was exceptionally dry followed by a dry autumn.
"We raced in October and November on watered ground and then we hit the cold spells and were frozen for three weeks in December.
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"We were frozen for 12 days in January as well and we've had 3mm since January 15, with 2mm since Trials day on January 28.
"We started watering last Monday and by the end of the weekend all three courses, including the cross-country, will have had 15mm of irrigation applied. Based on the forecast I'm seeing at the moment, that will continue.
"This week we might see some light drizzle and showers, but it's nothing of any volume.
"The long-range forecast I'm seeing, which takes us up to the middle of festival week, indicates that there's a very low risk of significant rainfall."
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