Kettley raises watering question but Claisse bats away taps talk

Cheltenham's weather forecaster John Kettley believes Simon Claisse may have to water over the coming days but the man himself insists it is too soon to be making irrigation predictions.

Former BBC regular Kettley is employed by Jockey Club Racecourses, whose flagship jumps venue remained good to soft on Friday on the Old and New Courses with the cross-country track additionally having some good places.

Kettley said: "There should be a little rain on Sunday but not much. Realistically, we should now only have small amounts of rain prior to the meeting. I would have thought for that reason Simon must be thinking of having to turn on the taps."

"There is a batch of rain coming in on Thursday night into Friday. I've told Simon at this stage we could be looking at 5mm to 6mm, so that would be ground-changing, especially if they have watered. Friday looks like being the wettest day of the week."

Asked about watering, Claisse said it is "too far out to be making any predictions", adding: "Nothing has changed today. We've had a dry, overcast day, one that was cooler than Thursday, and the going description remains the same."

Claisse revealed Jonjo O'Neill was out on the track on Friday and supported the good to soft description.