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A rainy weekend in County Kildare is set to help provide ideal jumping ground at Punchestown

Image: Punchestown shouldn't need to water ahead of the Festival

A rainy weekend in County Kildare is set to help provide ideal jumping ground for the start of the Punchestown Festival.

Racing manager Richie Galway hopes it will not be necessary to water the course ahead of the five-day extravaganza, which starts on Tuesday.

"We've had three millimetres of rain early in the week, and today's a good day, tomorrow's a good day," he told At The Races.

"The ground is staying good all round. There's a chance of a shower this afternoon, and then the forecast is unsettled at the weekend.

"There could be between 15 and 20 millimetres of rain over the weekend but to be honest the track needs it and will benefit from it.

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"We should get to Monday, Tuesday with ground on the slow side of good. But it has been an uncertain picture, and it remains that as yet. We've not had to water, and if the forecast is as it should, we shouldn't have to interfere."

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