Forecast rain unlikely to alter Newbury ground on eve of Challow meeting

Forecast rainfall is unlikely to change the going description at Newbury before the track's Grade 1 Coral Challow Novices' Hurdle meeting on Saturday, according to clerk of the course Keith Ottesen.

The ground is officially described as good to soft and any rain will be welcomed by officials following another unseasonably dry period.

"We had 5mm of rain this morning and we're good to soft," Ottesen said on Friday afternoon. "The forecast is for it to rain on and off all day but I don't think it will be sufficient to change the description.

"We still need rain. We've had some either side of Christmas and we've needed it to get it to the easy side of good. The rain tomorrow should maintain that. I can't imagine conditions getting particularly soft."

While the Nicky Henderson-trained Attacca has been ruled out of the Coral Challow Hurdle due to a bad scope, a field of 13 are set to go to post, with Hermes Allen the 10-11 favourite with the sponsors.

Hermes Allen: favourite for a competitive Coral Challow HurdleCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

"It's a cracking renewal and a great shame we won't see Attacca in the Altior colours," Ottesen said. "It's an unusual race in that there was 14 initially. In the last seven years the field size has been below six at about 5.9, with the biggest field eight and smallest three.

"In general there are five or six runners so to have a double-figure field is unusual, and we're particularly delighted to have two travel from Ireland as well."

The ground is good, good to soft in places at Cheltenham ahead of the track's New Year's Day card but clerk of the course Jon Pullin is expecting more rain and acknowledged the possibility of the meeting taking place on "proper jumping ground".

"We've just updated it this afternoon," Pullin said on Friday. "We had 5mm of rain this morning, have been dry this afternoon and the forecast is for some more rain from the early hours of tomorrow morning.

"We could see a further 5-10mm and if we get anywhere near that amount we'll certainly be near proper jumping ground. It depends on tomorrow's rain, but I envisage we'll begin the meeting with good to soft as the lead description."

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