Ascot’s Clerk of the Course Chris Stickels said: “The going at the moment remains as described after we changed it at lunchtime, which is Good on the Straight Course and Good, Good to Soft in places on the Round Course.

“I am very pleased with how the day went and I’m actually quite pleased that we did get a bit of rain this morning. I think it’s just on the slow side of good at the moment. If we get a dry morning tomorrow, maybe the whole track will be Good by racing. I don’t anticipate it drying up a huge amount by early afternoon. Maybe as the day goes on – the forecast is 24 degrees, sunny spells and quite a westerly breeze – so inevitably the track will dry a little bit tomorrow. I would think we could see some Good to Firm by Thursday.”

He added: “There are isolated showers in the forecast but the risks are minimal. It does look like some showers might develop during racing on Thursday, but that forecast may change in the next 24 hours.”

He said there are no plans to water tonight, adding: “We will see how the track rides tomorrow, what the times are like etc. But give it a hot, dry week and it’s quite possible that we will have to water.”

Attendance

The attendance on day one of Royal Ascot was 41,848.