Cheltenham ground update

Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse has refused to rule out the prospect of watering for the final two days of the Festival.

Following one of the wettest winters on record, it seems remarkable the taps may be turned on at Prestbury Park, but that is a possibility as the ground is drying up and there is no rain forecast for the coming days.

Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls on Saturday expressed their hopes that no watering will be necessary, with the Festival set to get under way on good to soft ground.

While Claisse has no plans to water the Old Course, used on Tuesday and Wednesday, he plans to review the situation "day by day" regarding whether the New Course could be watered for Thursday and Friday.

Claisse said: "We're good to soft on the Old and New Courses and the cross-country course is good to soft, soft in places.

"The outlook remains dry and bright and we're just going to monitor things day by day regarding the two days at the end of the week."

Looking forward to the biggest week in National Hunt racing, Claisse added: "There's not much more we can do now.

"The horses have started to arrive and there are more due in later today. We're looking forward to a great week."