Cheltenham Festival: Distance changes to Festival races

Cheltenham have tweaked the distances of three races at this year's Festival, as part of a bid to improve "messy" starts to some of the big-field handicaps.

The Ultima Business Solutions Handicap Chase on the opening day will be staged over three miles and a furlong, up from three miles and half a furlong, and will include 20 fences rather than 19, and the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Chase will extend by half a furlong to three miles and two furlongs and 22 fences.

In a separate switch the valuable handicap chase on the Thursday card, the Brown Advisory & Merribelle Stable Plate, will revert to being staged over two miles and five furlongs having been run over two and a half miles, a furlong shorter trip, last year.

"People will be familiar with the handicap chases over three-miles plus on both the Old and New courses and the starts have always been difficult because they're turning in off a chute to jump the 'last fence', which is actually their first fence, with the second-last behind them," racing director Simon Claisse told Sportinglife.com.

"With 24 runners that's difficult and it's our belief, along with trainers, jockeys and many punters, that the key is to get the start right and if we can facilitate a better start by extending the race distance by half a furlong and adding an extra fence, that's what we're going to do.

"The Ultima Solutions Handicap Chase goes up from three miles and a half a furlong to three miles and a furlong and from 19 fences to 20 fences, while the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir goes up from three miles, one and a half furlongs to three miles, two furlongs, and from 21 fences to 22 fences.

"We've tried all sorts of things to improve those starts, a job we made more challenging when moving the second-last fence to the home straight. I have sympathy for those that don't like changing any details of the races, but we've gone for making those starts as safe as possible as the priority."