Cheltenham hopes rise

Looks Like Trouble winning the 2000 Gold Cup

Organisers of this month's Cheltenham Festival are optimistic that the event will take place as planned.

They received a setback when a suspected case of foot-and-mouth was found at a farm a couple of miles away from the racecourse.

But Simon Claisse, clerk of the course, said on Friday that he was confident inspectors would clear the livestock of the virus.

This would give the green light to one of the most colourful British sporting events, the highlight of the National Hunt season.

If the farm is infected, the racecourse would fall inside an exclusion zone and the festival would be called off.

"There's cautious optimism," said Claisse. "We have not heard anything yet and as most cases have been confirmed within 24 hours we are not expecting to fall into an exclusion zone."

If you organise a party and a couple of your best friends don't turn up, you don't cancel it

  Clerk of the course Simon Claisse

But he added: "These things are popping up everywhere and we could still find ourselves near an infected farm.

"If that does happen then obviously we will have to postpone the event," he said.

Mixed fortunes

Organisers were buoyed on Thursday when French trainers announced that they would still be coming to Cheltenham.

However, even that comfort was removed when leading French national hunt trainer Francois Doumen told reporters he thought it was unlikely that the Cheltenham Festival would get the go-ahead.

Doumen, whose horse First Gold has a chance of bringing him his second Cheltenham Gold Cup win, said he would not make up his mind on travelling to the festival until he hears from France's ruling body France Galop next week.

There was bad news for the Cheltenham organisers on Thursday when Irish trainers agreed to their government's advice to stay at home.

The Irish government, in a bid to stave off the disease which has also affected Northern Ireland, also urged punters not to cross the channel.

"In terms of horses, it is obviously a disappointment. But it's only a few top horses. The feeling from the Irish punters is that they are coming anyway," Claisse said.

"If you organise a party and a couple of your best friends don't turn up, you don't cancel it," he added.

If the meeting is called off the racecourse would reschedule it from 13-15 March to 17-19 April, a window in the racing calendar that clashes only with flat racing at Newmarket.