There will be no change in the conditons for day two as no water is intended to be applied to the Cheltenham surface overnight.

Speaking at the end of Champion Day, day one of The Festival, Jon Pullin, Cheltenham’s Clerk of the Course, reported: “It was Good To Soft today, and having spoken to the forecasters there’s high confidence of between 2mm and 3mm tonight, so there will be no irrigating tonight as that should freshen it up nicely for tomorrow. Providing they are right, we will start on Good To Soft again tomorrow.

“A dry day is forecast for tomorrow and overnight into Thursday, and we should have a dry morning on Thursday before a band of rain comes in during the afternoon. We shouldn’t see too much rain in the afternoon, but heavier rain is expected to come through after racing.

“We could be looking at somewhere between 5mm and 10mm through Thursday into Friday.”

“It’s been a good day, with some great racing and some great performances out on the track. I’ve had positive comments throughout the day so I’m very happy.”

Leading Jockeys at the end of Champion Day

Jockey 1st 2nd 3rd

Paul Townend 1 1 -

Mark Walsh 1 1 -

Harry Skelton 1 - 2

Nico de Boinville 1 - 1

James Bowen 1

Richie McLernon 1 - -

Danny Mullins 1 - -

Jack Kennedy - 2 -

Leading Trainers at the end of Champion Day

Jockey 1st 2nd 3rd

Willie Mullins IRE 2 1 -

Nicky Henderson 2 - 1

Dan Skelton 1 - 2

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From the betting ring - William Hill reported layers on back foot after day one; despite the defeat of the favourites in the Arkle and Old Park Star was a multi-million-pound loss

Spokesperson for William Hill, Lee Phelps, said: “There’s no doubting that the punters have won day one of the Cheltenham Festival. We got off to the worst possible start when Old Park Star delivered in the Supreme. That was a multi-million-pound loss for us and we took a few more heavy blows as well.

“Kopek getting beat was a lifeline. If he’d gone in, then a tonne of the accas would’ve copped and we’d have really been reeling. The likes of Lossiemouth and Madara have cost us dear, but we’re ready to go to battle with the punters again on Wednesday. It’s still all to play for.”

A total of 57,242 racegoers enjoyed Champion Hurdle Day at Cheltenham Racecourse, day one of the Cheltenham Festival. It was up on last year's 55,498.

Fatality

Sadly there was one fatality as the Gary Moore trained, Hansard sustained an injury on the flat turning into the straight in the Arkle and was quickly dismounted.

A spokesperson for Cheltenham Racecourse said: “He was immediately attended to by a team of expert veterinary professionals and in their assessment, it was concluded that the best course of action for the horse’s welfare was for him to be humanely euthanised. Our heartfelt condolences are with his connections.”