PULLIN DECIDES ON WATER TREATMENT

A DRY period at Cheltenham has forced clerk of the course Jon Pullin to take the unprecedented step of watering the course ahead of tomorrow’s New Years Day fixture.

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Groundstaff irrigated parts of the New Course on Monday following a 10-day near dry spell during which just 1.5mm of rain fell at the track.

Temperatures are due to dip below freezing ahead of the fixture but the course is expected to withstand the forecast, with key areas under cover.

“We did some selective watering on Monday and have put frost covers down on takeoffs, landings and vulnerable areas because we've got a frost forecast tonight,” Pullin (right) said yesterday.