Henderson committed Shishkin to the Supreme Novices' Hurdle on the opening day of next month's Cheltenham Festival after he brushed aside proven performers on Thursday.

Racing officials are confident the Cheltenham Festival will go ahead next month despite the disruption to travel caused by the spread of the coronavirus.

Nigel Twiston-Davies hopes Ballyandy can continue his revival by getting the victory former stable star The New One could not manage in his attempts at the Unibet Champion Hurdle.

The killer coronavirus outbreak across the globe has lead to a host of sporting events being cancelled, postponed or placed in serious doubt with the Six Nations among impacted events.

Running the Cheltenham Festival virtually behind closed doors if a spread of the Coronavirus restricts major sporting events is not an option according to the man overseeing the jumps meeting.

Trainer David Pipe is eyeing potential Cheltenham Festival targets for Brinkley after the five-year-old gelding produced an eye-catching performance in landing the West Berkshire Mencap.

Though Minella Rocco may not be the force of old, he has demonstrated with wins at Warwick and most recently at Wetherby he has the potential for one more big effort at Cheltenham.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: Sports events could be restricted to crowds of just 500 people if the coronavirus outbreak continues to escalate, under new emergency plans.

The latest case of coronavirus, the third in Gloucestershire, was diagnosed over the weekend and then announced hours before the start of the four-day fixture Festival.

As the coronavirus epidemic continues to take its toll around the world, more and more sporting events are either in doubt, postponed or cancelled altogether as a result.

We have our first winner at this year's Cheltenham Festival following the conclusion of the curtain-raiser in the shape of the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle.

Prolific mare Put The Kettle On showed the boys the way home in the Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy.

Imperial Aura saw off a good challenge from Galvin to win the Close Brothers Novices' Handicap Chase.

Honeysuckle got the better of Benie Des Dieux in an titanic tussle for the David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle at Cheltenham. The horse ridden by Rachel Blackmore won by half a length to the favourite.

The biggest cheer on the opening day of the 2020 Cheltenham Festival was reserved for Rachael Blackmore and Honeysuckle after they won the Grade One Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle.

Up to 70,000 spectators (pictured, packed stands today) are expected to attend the first day of the annual horse racing festival with fans travelling from across Britain to the Gloucestershire course.

The Good Morning Britain host today warned the UK was 'at war' with COVID-19 and slammed MPs for failing to take effective measures to stop the disease spreading.

Champ's breathtaking finish to win the RSA Novice's Chase at Cheltenham left social media dumbfounded after the horse emerged from third 25 yards from the finish to take the win. 

Envoi Allen maintained his unbeaten career record with victory in the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Champ emerged from nowhere with 25 yards left in the race to win the RSA Insurance Novices' Chase on day two of Cheltenham Festival.

The pair flashed past the line almost inseparable, but Samcro rallied when he had to and won by barely a whisker - officially a nose - with admirable veteran Faugheen just a length behind in third.

The 2-1 shot, ridden by Paul Townsend, held off the challenge of Saint Calvados to secure the victory, with A Plus Tard rounding off the top three.

The horse emerged triumphant at the 4.50pm race, well ahead of Dolcita and 100-1 shot Rayna's World in second and third respectively.

Glamorous women turned heads in vibrant colours and standout coats as they arrived at Cheltenham Racecourse this morning.

An estimated 70,000 racegoers are expected to flock to Cheltenham Racecourse (pictured) as PM Boris Johnson continues to refuse banning mass gatherings to combat coroanvirus.

The Smile singer, 34, looked effortlessly chic in a long tartan trench coat and a pair of black trousers.

The festival has gone ahead despite fears of the deadly virus which has decimated this weekend's Premier League football and international rugby fixtures.

Monkfish was victorious in the Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham after squeezing through on the line in a thrilling race. Latest Exhibition and Fury Road took second and third spot.

Indefatigable won the final event at the Cheltenham Festival after pipping Pileon in the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle. There was a long pause as the crowd eagerly awaited.

For 30 years Steve Packham has been dreaming of owning a winning horse at Cheltenham, only for the reality to be snatched away from him in a couple of seconds.

Racing in England will continue as normal despite most other sports closing down because of the coronavirus risk. The only limit in Scotland with meetings behind closed doors.

Arriving ahead of the Gold Cup today with his wife Zara Phillips, the Queen's eldest granddaughter, Tindall said: 'Do I feel that cancelling everything is going to solve it? I'm not entirely sure.'

The Little Mix star, 28, took to Instagram on Wednesday night to admit that she doesn't have abs and that her taut torso is created by 'breathing in'.

The 30-year-old is self-isolating at home and has had no contact with his family since Saturday evening, when he started suffering from coronavirus-like symptoms.

Racing Post will temporarily stop publication of their daily newspaper for the first time since its inception in 1986 due to impact on the sport from the deadly coronavirus pandemic.  

The racing event came under criticism at the time for allowing thousands of racegoers to huddle together, risking a spread of the virus. Over 250,000 people attended the Cheltenham Festival.

Andrew Parker Bowles has revealed he has coronavirus and believes he contracted it at the Cheltenham Festival (pictured, the Duchess of Cornwall's ex-husband with Princess Anne).

The world-famous Cheltenham racing festival in Gloucestershire went ahead last month despite fears over the spread of the virus which was then in its early stages in Britain.

Cheltenham Festival organisers have defended their decision to go ahead with the meeting after fears were raised that the mass gathering of people helped spread the coronavirus

Retired champion jockey Sir AP McCoy said horse racing had followed UK government advice to go ahead last month with the Cheltenham Festival that saw 250,000 people gather over four days.

It has emerged that Philip Davies and Caroline Nokes received eight tickets between them from sports betting company GVC Holdings, which owns Ladbrokes and Coral, for the event.

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust has recorded 125 deaths from the disease so far, more than double those in nearby Swindon with 67, Bristol on 58 and Bath on 46.

Cheltenham Festival went ahead just 10 days before lockdown measures were introduced by the government and experts want an inquiry to see if it caused a spike in positive tests in Gloucestershire.

67-year-old landlord Alexander Grierson died after contracting coronavirus during the Cheltenham festival. Calls are being made to investigate why the races went ahead.

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