The going at Cheltenham at 10.00am this morning ahead of the first day of the Festival is good to soft, soft in places.

Simon Claisse, the Clerk of the Course at Cheltenham said this morning:

"Conditions have improved significantly since just six days ago, when we had over an inch of rain on the course and it was predominantly soft, heavy in places.good to soft on the round course and soft in the chute where the two and a half and four mile races start.

"The outlook is dry for the coming week though there may be splinters of rain, as they call them, but nothing significant over the next four days.

"Temperatures should be nine or 10 degrees over the first three days but the forecasters are talking about it getting up to a balmy 14 degrees on Gold Cup day.

MORE MULLINS MAGIC?

Will Willie Mullins have a record-breaking first day of the festival 2016?

Last year, the Irish trainer managed four wins on Champion Hurdle day, which equalled Nicky Henderson's achievement of scoring four times on the second day of the four-day meeting in 2012.

Mullins' 2015 Tuesday four-timer consisted of Douvan in the opening Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle, Un De Sceaux in the Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy, Faugheen in the Stan James Champion Hurdle and Glens Melody in the OLBG Mares' Hurdle.

This year Mullins has 13 runners in total in six of the seven races on Champion Day. He has won the past three renewals of the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle, and favourite Min, Bellshill and Petit Mouchoir all take their chance in the race today.

Douvan is odds-on favourite to follow up last year's Supreme Novices' success with victory in the Racing Post Arkle Chase this year, while Mullins is represented by market leader Annie Power, Nichols Canyon and Sempre Medici in the feature race of the day, the Stan James Champion Hurdle.

Mullins has won seven of the eight runnings of the OLBG Mares' Hurdle, six of them with the magnificent Quevega. He sends favourite Vroum Vroum Mag and Gitane Du Berlais to post this year.

His three declarations for the National Hunt Chase are Measureofmydreams, Pleasant Company and Pont Alexandre, and he rounds the day off with McKinley in the Close Brothers Novices' Handicap Chase.

In 2015, Mullins set a new festival record of eight winners over the four days, beating Nicky Henderson's seven in 2012.

Henderson has nine runners today, five of which - Hargam, My Tent Or Yours, Peace And Co, Sign Of A Victory and Top Notch - are in the Stan James Champion Hurdle. He has won the championship contest five times in total since his initial success with See You Then in 1985.

Vaniteux will seek to give Henderson a fifth Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy win, while Altior and Buveur D'Air are his Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle challengers. His remaining runner is Polly Peachum, second favourite behind Vroum Vroum Mag for the OLBG Mares' Hurdle.