No bold statements from Claisse but forecast still suggests rain is coming

If the weather forecasters have got it right, it remains the case that conditions at Cheltenham will ease by the end of the week to the point where heavy could feature in the official going description.

However, speaking exactly a week before the start of jumping's flagship meeting, clerk of the course Simon Claisse repeated his view that making predictions at this stage for what ground the opening day runners will encounter is pointless.

The Old, New and Cross Country courses were all described as soft, good to soft in places on Tuesday.

Claisse said: "We've had a dry day having received 3mm of overnight rain. The forecast is for a few showers on Wednesday, bringing 1mm or 2mm of rain. From Thursday to Sunday there should be more persistent rain with a forecast for up to 17mm.

"If the forecast proves accurate and we did get that much, I'd say we'll be soft with heavy places by the end of the week, but we're too far out to speculate what the ground description will be on Tuesday."

A number of weather forecasts also indicate an expectation for rain or showers at Cheltenham throughout next week.

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