RACING:An 8am inspection will be held at Punchestown but track authorities are confident of racing going ahead. "There are showers forecast and if some are heavy there are one or two patches we are concerned about," a spokesperson said.

Despite just five races on the card, yesterday’s “Ladies Day” crowd hit 27,219, up over two thousand on the corresponding meeting last year.

Tote betting reached €601,734, down from last year’s €897,967. A bookmaker tally of €1,158,136 was down from €1,881,685.