RACING/NEWS: No weather problems are reported for Thurles today and there is a similarly optimistic bulletin for the weekend.

The Thurles manager, Pierce Molony, reported almost 20mm of rain fell in 24 hours, but the ground remains officially soft.

"That might change when they churn it up during racing, but at the moment it is not heavy," he said yesterday.

The Fairyhouse manager, Dick Sheil, gave an even more upbeat bulletin ahead of the big two-day weekend fixture. "Since yesterday afternoon we have had only 8mm here. The rain seemed to bypass us. I was on to Leopardstown and they told me they got 35mm."

Cork also race on Sunday, and a spokesman said yesterday: "We have had a lot of rain and the ground is soft. But it is raceable and the forecast says we have got the worst of it now."