Despite tomorrow's Fairyhouse meeting being abandoned and Cork's Sunday meeting also cancelled - with an alternative date being considered - officials at Down Royal were adamant yesterday that their big meeting will go ahead this weekend.

Course manager Mike Todd said: "There was never any doubt about it. We haven't anything like the severe weather that has hit England and although we had heavy rain last night the course has been virtually unaffected.

"At the moment it has gone to soft but with the weather people forecasting dry days later in the week we expect it to be no worse than yielding on Saturday."

England relies on the all-weather at Lingfield to provide the action today as the National Hunt meetings at Huntingdon and Sedgefield have fallen foul of the weather.

And officials at tomorrow's three meetings at Newbury, Folkesone and Kelso are also keeping a close eye on the weather.

Today's meeting at Huntingdon became the week's first victim of the current wet weather. Racing was called off due to flooding.

Clerk of the course Hugo Bevan said yesterday: "We have abandoned. The river has risen very fast in the last two hours and it has now burst its banks.

"You can't get into the course the normal way now, you have to come in the back way - and in two hours you won't be able to get out that way either and we will be marooned."

And waterlogging also claimed Sedgefield's meeting. "We have abandoned," said a spokesman for Sedgefield. "There is waterlogging more or less all over.

"We had 16mm of rain overnight, another 8mm this morning and it is still chucking it down."

Folkestone is the main doubt tomorrow where a precautionary inspection has been called for 2 p.m. today. Clerk of the course Fergus Cameron explained: "The track is 95 per cent raceable at the moment but there is one area at the bottom of the hill which is flooded and we can't get around it.

"The forecast indicates that we should see improvement in the next 48 hours and if it is right we would be fairly hopeful."

Officials at Newbury are optimistic that their meeting will beat the rain.

Course spokesman Richard Osgood said yesterday: "We had 22.6mm of rain overnight and the ground is heavy. But at the moment we are raceable and no inspection is planned."

The going at Kelso is heavy but clerk of the course Jonnie Fenwicke-Clenell will delay any decision on an inspection until he has seen how much rain there is overnight.

He said: "There has been almost an inch of rain and we will wait and see what happens overnight."

Later in the week there is flooding in places at Uttoxeter, who are due to race on Saturday, while there is waterlogging at Wetherby for their Sunday fixture.

Down Royal's two-day meeting gets under way on Friday, with Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Looks Like Trouble due to reappear in Saturday's James Nicholson Ulster Champion Chase.

Trainer Noel Chance said yesterday "Looks Like Trouble will travel to Ireland tomorrow. I'm giving him a gallop today. I'm very pleased with him. He's in great form.

"The fact that the ground will be no worse than soft has come as some relief in view of the weather in England."

Fellow British challenger Celibate was withdrawn by Charlie Mann at yesterday's forfeit stage for the big race. Looks Like Trouble is one of seven horses left in the race along with last year's winner Florida Pearl.

The latter's trainer Willie Mullins could also run Micko's Dream.

The remaining hopefuls are Dorans Pride, Fleur Du Chenet, Inis Cara and Rathbawn Prince.