Downpours at Cheltenham

Heavy rain overnight has eased the ground at Cheltenham ahead of the three-day Open meeting that starts on Friday.

The going is now soft, good to soft in places, but it is starting to dry out and clerk of the course Simon Claisse believes it could be back to good to soft by tomorrow

“We had 20 millimetres of rain in three hours last night,” said Claisse.

“I’ve had to change the going to soft, good to soft in places, but I expect it to be good to soft, soft in places by tea-time and back to good to soft by tomorrow.

“We may get up to three or four millimetres tomorrow and a little rain Friday with only the odd shower about at the weekend.

“The forecasters are having difficulty predicting the weather at the moment as the charts are all over the place.

“We’ve got a fantastic entry for the meeting and are really looking forward to it.”