Glamorous racegoers tried in vain to shield their carefully chosen outfits from the pouring rain and jockeys ended up slathered in mud during a wet and wild Wednesday at Cheltenham Racecourse.
Punters were photographed turning flimsy, bright-coloured scarves into protective headwear as continuous rain pelted them on day two of the festival in Gloucestershire.
Sheltering under umbrellas, the Ladies Day crowd wore a dazzling array of colourful coats and over-the-top headgear. They were joined by VIPs including the Princess Royal and her daughter Zara Tindall, 40, with her husband Mike Tindall, 43.
The festival was one of the last major sporting events to be held with spectators before lockdown in March 2020 and was accused of being a Covid-19 superspreading event. Last year’s races were held behind closed doors. Over the next four days, as many as 250,000 punters are set to attend.
Jockeys including Lewis Dobb, Harry Bannister and Davy Russell were pictured smothered in mud as their mounts pounded the sodden turf.
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Eyebrows were raised at the information that officials had watered the track on Tuesday in preparation for the big day. They need not have bothered as rain fell all day, turning the ground heavy.
The champion trainer Paul Nicholls took out pre-race favourite Bravemansgame from the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, after seeing his Grade 1 winner Stage Star struggle in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle.
Nicholls told ITV Racing: “From Sunday, on the forecast, it was going to be a very wet day today. Why water when you’ve got a wet forecast?”
The two-time Grand National winner Tiger Roll was unable to finish his racing career with one final victory at Cheltenham. The 12-year-old placed second in the Cross Country Chase.
