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Weather Watch 2026

I put up heavy @ 16/1 and soft “as a cover bet” @ 7/4 just over a week ago on here. It was such a sensible play, even though it was suggested by some ‘betting on grass is degenerate’.

No, it was both smart, sensible, and come tomorrow morning, very profitable.

It might yet turn out to be my biggest priced winner of the week, for a very decent sum staked.

There’s a market for everything, and when good to soft is 8/15, soft is 7/4 and with a touch of luck heavy is 16/1 - following a month of rainfall, and with a mixed forecast going into the festival, there was a hell of an exciting opportunity to profit here.
 
Bollinger said:
I put up heavy @ 16/1 and soft “as a cover bet” @ 7/4 just over a week ago on here. It was such a sensible play, even though it was suggested by some ‘betting on grass is degenerate’.

No, it was both smart, sensible, and come tomorrow morning, very profitable.

It might yet turn out to be my biggest priced winner of the week, for a very decent sum staked.

There’s a market for everything, and when good to soft is 8/15, soft is 7/4 and with a touch of luck heavy is 16/1 - following a month of rainfall, and with a mixed forecast going into the festival, there was a hell of an exciting opportunity to profit here.
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My goodness :dejection:


If your best result of the week and biggest priced winner does happen to be on the ground, I'm not sure it's the right sport for you?
 
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Kevloaf said:
My goodness :dejection:


If your best result of the week and biggest priced winner does happen to be on the ground, I'm not sure it's the right sport for you?
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Tongue in cheek Mr ‘Loaf, of course.

It looks extremely likely the 7/4 (I don’t bet with pennies) will be a lovely start to the festival. A 16/1 winner should the heavens open, in these days of festival hotpot’s across the 4 days, might be the biggest winner for a lot of bettors, including those that love the sport, I’d kindly suggest.
 
I think that bet on Heavy will come in. Just checked the met office’s weather map and the course is going to get A LOT of rain between 6am and 12pm. Would not surprise me if they get 12mm. They could get more. Given 7mm took them from GS to soft, with only a day’s grace, surely this rain will make it Heavy. If it does rain that much, and unless I see a going stick reading, I will not trust a description of “soft”.
 
I think someone’s lost the Going Stick at Cheltenham, what a wait it’s been for the most important going stick reading of the whole National Hunt Season.
 
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If it is raining through the night, I will probably be woken up by it raining on the skylight window at the place I am staying, walking distance to the course.

Hopefully I won’t be woken up and posting on here at 4am that it’s lashing down.
We’ll see how things go. :encouragement:
 
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Forecast has it absolutely bucketing it down all morning. Depends when they take the going stick reading - think we’ll only get it once and have to infer from the reading and the first race what it will develop into.

I really find it astonishing there’s been no reading other than a verbal update from the clerk since Friday. Best guess would be soft, heavy in places at the off, but could be heavy.
 
Mighty said:
Forecast has it absolutely bucketing it down all morning. Depends when they take the going stick reading - think we’ll only get it once and have to infer from the reading and the first race what it will develop into.

I really find it astonishing there’s been no reading other than a verbal update from the clerk since Friday. Best guess would be soft, heavy in places at the off, but could be heavy.
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If you go along the time bar at the bottom you'll get a rough idea...if accurate.

Type in Cheltenham in the search bar.

https://www.ventusky.com/?p=51.9;-2.1;5&l=rain-3h&t=20240312/0000

Can't beat a good weather chart :glee:
 
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Saxon Warrior said:
If it is raining through the night, I will probably be woken up by it raining on the skylight window at the place I am staying, walking distance to the course.

Hopefully I won’t be woken up and posting on here at 4am that it’s lashing down.
We’ll see how things go. :encouragement:
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4am now. Drizzle.
 
Been raining for the last couple of hours cos like a kid I can’t sleep! Weather forecast giving out rain most of the morning and clear this afternoon
 
Smashing down now. Going to be Heavy in description. Wave goodbye to any Good ground performers. Some big prices incoming.
 
Would be a real shame if we get a load of non runners and watch horse’s struggle to get home this week

See what the clerk says later.
 
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Been waking up throughout the night and all I heard was rain.
 
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….if the rain has hit Cheltenham like it’s hit the NW, I wouldn’t be surprised if tomorrow’s XC is abandoned. Hopefully not as bad there as elsewhere.
 
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Good shout whoever was on about heavy ground on this thread, absolutely pissing it down
 
It’s not going to suit every runner today, thats for sure.

Raining still at Cheltenham, at 7am.

Looks set in for a while.
Forecast extends out from now until 3pm with rain, going to be a rainy Cheltenham looking at the 4-day forecast.

Hopefully we don’t get many Non-Runners, as they declared knowing this may happen.
 
Please please please dont rain tomorrow… still recovering from 2022 wet Wednesday !
 
I think we’re very fortunate we had a dry week last week, can’t imagine it could have withstood a full week of rain plus this on top! Currently soft to heavy with another 6mm forecast!
 
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