Officials at Cheltenham have begun selective watering ahead of the famous jumps Festival.

The ground is currently on the easy side of good and with forecasters predicting a largely dry run-up to the showpiece meeting, along with rising temperatures, clerk of the course Simon Claisse is keen to ensure the conditions are maintained.

"The ground is good to soft, good in places and we'll be doing some selective watering, amounting to three or four millimetres, in the next couple of days to maintain that going description," Claisse said.

"The forecasters suggest we'll get no more than two millimetres of rain between now and racing on Tuesday, so I have had to make a judgment call on how much watering we need to do.

"Temperatures look set to rise into the early teens next week, which will hopefully be great for racegoers and I'm sure the horses will enjoy a bit of sun on their backs as well."

The Cheltenham Festival begins on Tuesday.