GOING ON GOLD CUP DAY 
  
The going for the fourth and final day of The Festival, Gold Cup Day, Friday, March 16, remains:
 
Soft, Heavy in places
 
Action takes place today on the New Course, which was also used yesterday. The Old Course was used for the first two days of The Festival.
 
Simon Claisse, Cheltenham's Clerk of the Course, said today: "Today is the biggest day of The Festival with the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup set to go off at 3.30pm.
 
"What a fantastic day we had yesterday on St Patrick's Thursday with a massive crowd of 66,000. The ground was Soft, Heavy in places and interestingly the jockeys said that after the 10 millimetres of rain that had fallen, it rode better than the first two days and was not as tiring.
 
"Overnight we had three millimetres of rain and I have left the ground as Soft, Heavy in places on both the Chase and Hurdle courses.
 
"On the Chase course, we have opened up six to seven yards of fresh ground on the inside which has not been raced on since Gold Cup Day last year."
 
Today is forecast to be dry, with bright spells and temperatures of 11 to 112 degrees Celsius.
 
All race distances are as advertised in the racecard.
 
Non-Runners Today
 
2.10pm Randox Health County Hurdle
24       BRAHMS DE CLERMONT (FR) (Self Certificate, Knocked Joint)
26       I SHOT THE SHERIFF (IRE) (Going)
27       KRUGERMAC (IRE) (Self Certificate, Not Eaten Up)
 
3.30pm Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup        
6         DOUBLE SHUFFLE (IRE) (Self Certificate, Not Eaten Up)
10       MINELLA ROCCO (IRE) (Going)
16       SHANTOU FLYER (IRE) (Self Certificate, Not Eaten Up)
 
4.50pm Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle
19       AMOUR DE NUIT (IRE) (Self Certificate, Going)
 
5.30pm Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase
20       THE GAME CHANGER (IRE) (Going)