Conditions unchanged at Punchestown but rain forecast ahead of Thursday card

The going remains unchanged at yielding, good to yielding in places on day two of the Punchestown festival, but conditions could deteriorate into tomorrow.

The day's feature event is the Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup (5.25) featuring the dual Gold Cup hero Galopin Des Champs, Fastorslow, Hewick and Corach Rambler.

Speaking on the back straight this morning, the track's clerk of the course Brendan Sheridan said: "The ground remains the same. It's yielding, good to yielding in places on both tracks. 

"I was talking to Met Eireann today and it's mainly dry today with the possibility of passing showers, but there's more persistent rain moving in tonight and the possibility of 5-10mm. 

"We've fresh ground on both tracks, seven yards on the hurdle track and six yards up the home straight. We also have fresh ground, four to five yards, on the chase track. 

"We're in a good place, we'll continue to monitor the situation and we're all good to go."

Any rain would benefit the soft-ground loving Stayers' Hurdle winner Teahupoo, who will bid to complete a lucrative double in tomorrow's Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle (6.00).

The card also includes the Grade 1 Barberstown Castle Novice Chase (5.25), which features two Willie Mullins-trained Grade 1-winning novice chasers in Gaelic Warrior and Il Etait Temps.

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Can Topham runner-up James Du Berlais atone for his Aintree near-miss in this typically competitive handicap chase? 

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