Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) has announced that the Fairyhouse meeting which was due to be held today, Saturday, but was cancelled due to surface water lying in areas of the track, will now be held on Tuesday April 22nd.

Original entries stand while Listed Rybo Handicap Hurdle reverts to after final forfeit stage and fresh declarations to run for all races must be made by 10am tomorrow, Sunday April 20th

Today's opening day of the Irish Grand National meeting was cancelled following very heavy rain overnight.

The three-day meeting had been due to kick off with three competitive listed handicap hurdles and chases, as well as the Ladies National, but it was called off just before 8am after 21mm of rain overnight left the course waterlogged.

Sunday's dual Grade 1 card must now also pass an inspection at 7.30am tomorrow with the high-class card due to feature two Grade 1s, the WillowWarm Gold Cup and the Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle.

Fairyhouse's general manager Peter Roe said: "We've had 30mm in the last 24 hours and we've had over 50mm of rain in the last 48.

The track had been watered earlier in the week but Roe said: "On Wednesday, when we had 26mm of rain, 50 miles east of Fairyhouse got no rain whatsoever. If we hadn't been watering and we got no rain I would have been in trouble."

Racing in Ireland today is now just the flat meeting at Cork beginning at 1.25.