Ground unchanged and no rain forecast

Expect more of the same for day two of the Cheltenham Festival as clerk of the course Simon Claisse left the going unchanged from day one at good to soft.

Jockeys unanimously described conditions as on the soft side despite expectation the ground could quicken during a dry and mild day.

"I'd say it was dead," reported Ruby Walsh, while Nico de Boinville added: "It's on the slow side of good - lovely ground."

After riding on the chase course, Richard Johnson said: "It's good to soft. I thought it was hard work."

Claisse said: "I'm going to leave it as good to soft, I've no reason to believe it's dried out very much. I'll take another look in the morning.

"The forecast remains dry, with temperatures of 12-13C, cloudy with sunny spells and no rain."