ITV RACING’S ODDS COUPLE

IT IS a big week for ITV Racing, with negotiations to agree a new £30million, four-year TV contract beyond 2020 ongoing. Another strong Cheltenham Festival would put them in the driving seat to convince key stakeholders that keeping racing on terrestrial TV is good for the sport.

Behind the cameras, the blossoming relationship between ITV Racing presenters Francesca Cumani and Oli Bell appears to still be going strong and it will be interesting to see how much they share the screen at what will be their first Festival as a couple. But their approach to their Cheltenham attire remains chalk and cheese. While Bell took a trip to upmarket tailor Harvie & Hudson in London to get kitted out, Cumani is known to love finding outfits in charity shops.

On the clothing front, all eyes will be on Liz Hurley tomorrow afternoon as she presents the Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy. It remains to be seen if she will wear something quite as daring as the outfit she donned for last year’s Thanksgiving Dinner with the US Ambassador, but a word of warning: it snowed yesterday in Cheltenham and is forecast to be cold and wet.