Wayne Rooney will have his first runner in the Lily Agnes at Chester
PICTURE: Getty ImagesChester expecting soft ground for all three days
WITH further rain forecast throughout the week, Chester's clerk of the course Andrew Morris expects all three days of the May meeting to be run on soft ground after an unexpected 21mm of rain fell on the course overnight.
The going had been good to soft, good in places, but a torrential downpour overnight has seen the offical description change to soft and Morris does not expect that to change as the week progresses.
"We got 21mm last night, we were forecast 5mm," he told the Racing Post on Tuesday morning. "It was dry until 9pm, and then between then and 1am we got 21mm.
"That's an awful lot of rain in a short timeand the track is now soft. We have light rain forecast tomorrow and evening showers forecast for Thursday, so I would very much expect all three days to be run on soft ground now."
The Chester Cup is the highlight of day one of the three day meeting and Zuider Zee, a 14-1 shot, will now not run because of the going change meaning first reserve Shubaat will run.
The Lily Agnes Conditions Stakes on the same card is set to get plenty of coverage in the wider media with Wayne Rooney having his first runner in the shape of the Tom Dascombe-trained Pippy.
Stratford abandoned their fixture on Wednesday due to waterlogging, clerk of the course Stephen Lambert said: "We had an inch of rain overnight. That's two inches this week and seven in the last 30 days and the course is now waterlogged. Luckily the river hasn't burst its banks and we should be back in action soon."
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