Going now officially soft for festival as the forecast rain arrives

Day one of the Cheltenham Festival will be run on soft ground after persistent heavy rain on Tuesday morning.

There was no rain overnight at Cheltenham and the ground on Tuesday morning was initially described as good to soft, soft in places, but the anticipated change in the description was made at around 11.30am, with rain setting in. The action gets under way at 1.30pm with the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle.

Clerk of the course Simon Claisse, who reported 5mm of rain on Tuesday morning, said: "We've had around two-thirds of the rain we were forecast. It's forecast to stop around 1pm and be clear for the afternoon."

A string of saturated jockeys returned to the weighing room after walking or running around the course and Jack Quinlan, who is due to ride Kalashnikov in the Racing Post Arkle, was impressed with the conditions underfoot.

Speaking shortly before the going was changed, he said: "I'd call it proper National Hunt ground. It's on the soft side with a lovely covering of grass. It's in lovely condition and exactly the sort of ground you'd expect to be riding on at this time of year."

The Close Brothers Novices' Handicap Chase and National Hunt Challenge Cup will be run over an additional 19 yards following a movement of the rails at the stud chase bend.

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