Yielding ground for opening day with little change forecast for rest of the week

Yielding ground is expected for the opening day of the Punchestown festival on Tuesday.

Speaking on Monday afternoon, the track's racing manager Richie Galway reported: "There is a degree of uncertainty about the weather. We've been told to expect some showers over the next couple of days, although they are likely to be of the hit-or-miss variety.

"Our ground is yielding and we're not expecting any significant change through the week. It might dry out a bit or ease slightly depending on the situation with the showers that are forecast."

Wednesday's feature, the €275,000 Coral Punchestown Gold Cup, has attracted 13 declarations headed by Gold Cup fourth Road To Respect. Willie Mullins has four runners and title rival Gordon Elliott just the one, Outlander.

Read exclusive previews from 6pm daily on racingpost.com