sport

Hopes rise at Cheltenham

Cheltenham officials are "hopeful" that their Trials Day meeting will go ahead as planned on Saturday despite snow.

Cheltenham is "hopeful" their Trials Day meeting will go ahead as planned on Saturday.

While the track is protected from frost by covers, the Cotswolds venue has seen plenty of snow in recent days.

Staff at the track managed to remove a large amount of snow that was sitting on top of the covers on Tuesday, but clerk of the course Simon Claisse admitted the threat of further overnight snow was a concern.

The track reported an inch of fresh snow overnight but is in the process of removing that from the covers.

However, should it not be fit to race on Saturday, Cheltenham does have the option of delaying the meeting by 24 hours and racing on Sunday.

A tweet from the racecourse on Wednesday morning: "Snow is being removed from the covers, so we remain hopeful for Saturday, but still planning for Sunday as a back-up option."