"It will certainly be soft ground" - Cheltenham braced for rain during Festival week

Earlier in the week, we brought you quotes from Pullin, as he claimed there was "nothing of significant volume in the forecast". Just days later, snow settled at the top of Cleeve Hill and, as temperatures have risen above zero, that snow has turned into rainfall.

Although the forecast for this weekend seems largely clear, the Met Office is predicting that a band of rain will hit Cheltenham on Wednesday night of this week, meaning the already soft main course is unlikely to dry out.

"I think if we get what's in the forecast, it will certainly be soft ground." Pullin told ITV Racing on Saturday morning.

"It remains soft in the main, with a little bit of good to soft down the back on the New course and on the cross-country course."

"The forecast is for it to remain dry for much of the rest of today (Saturday), with some showers moving in later on, although there should be nothing too significant volume-wise."

"Tomorrow (Sunday) is forecast to be dry during the day, with temperatures of 11C or 12C, but then there is a band of rain moving in during the evening and into Monday. There could be between 5mm and 10mm of rain."

"Monday is a blustery day and Tuesday is looking slightly drier, without too much rain around and we may get the odd sunny spell. We'll start Wednesday dry but it looks like there is another band coming through later on and into Thursday."

With the new forecast in mind, we picked out five handicappers who're set to run at the Cheltenham Festival who would relish the prospect of rain-softened ground.