First Classic of the season set to be run on good ground after rain hits first day of Guineas weekend at Newmarket

Steady light rain fell throughout the opening day of the Qipco Guineas Festival on Friday, but with the weather expected to be largely warmer and drier on Saturday Newmarket's new clerk of the course Andrew Morris expects the action to take place on good ground.

Morris changed the ground to good (from good, good to firm in places) before racing on Friday, and while he admitted it may be softer than that on Saturday morning with further rain expected, he believes a dry morning will return conditions to good.

"We had 3.8mm of rain this afternoon by 5pm and it's expected to be like this for another two hours," he said on Friday. "We may be good, good to soft in places in the morning, but we're largely dry after that and hopefully it will dry back.

"It's been cold in the wind this afternoon with temperatures of 12C, but we're expecting 16C tomorrow so it will be a bit better all round."

Newmarket's nine-race card kicks off at 1.10, with the Qipco 2,000 Guineas, in which Aidan O'Brien's hugely exciting City Of Troy returns to action, the day's feature at 3.35.

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