Watering took place at Leopardstown on Thursday with the going good to yielding on both tracks ahead of the four-day Christmas meeting.

Rain is forecast which would come as a relief to many trainers – but quite how much falls remains to be seen.

Clerk of the course Lorcan Wyer said: “We’ve had three millimetres of rain since yesterday morning and the going is good to yielding on both tracks.

“The forecast is generally dry today (Thursday) but unsettled then for Friday and Saturday with the possibility of 10-15 millimetres in advance of racing on Sunday.

“We are watering the chase track today and monitoring it thereafter. We feel there’s plenty of kindness in the ground, but we’re effectively just trying to keep the kindness in it.”

Wyer also explained how the layout of the track has changed slightly.

“There’s a little change to the chase track regulation in previous years,” he said.

“The fence before the road crossing has gone back 30 yards and the fence beyond that has gone back 40 yards because we did a bit of levelling on take offs and landings so those fences are not in their normal positions.

“In terms of the hurdles track, for days one and two they are out wide and days three or four they go back inside.”