Cheltenham has had its last major spell of rainfall ahead of The Festival, according to the latest forecast.
Wet weather has prevailed all season but Simon Claisse reports that the ground is getting some much needed respite with just a week to go.
Temperatures are due to rise too at the four-day fixture, reaching around 10C, which is the average for any given day in March.
"As expected we had the last belt of serious rain through Prestbury Park on Friday night into Saturday, which has kept the ground soft all round and heavy in places on the cross country on the Wednesday of Festival week," said Claisse.
"But signs have been getting stronger over the weekend that the weather is going to become more settled with less rain.
"We are really looking at showers over the next ten days, no more than 10mm and temperatures getting warmer, up to double figures by the weekend.
"So currently our expectation would be that we will see good to soft in the ground description by the end of the week."
Cheltenham Racecourse has had 75 per cent more rainfall than normal since mid-September and its meetings have been run on soft or heavy ground.
One day of the November Meeting was cancelled due to a waterlogged track and in recent weeks, nearby towns such as Tewkesbury and Gloucester have experienced flooding.
