A day of great expectation

In a festival bursting with Irish expectation, today could be the day when fortunes are made or lost.

Nick Dundee, Alexander Banquet and an invariably strong Bumper team mean that the wickedly difficult combination of quality and quantity are not just hoped for, but expected. Throw in two runners in the featured £170,000 Queen Mother Champion Chase, plus a raft of possibilities in the Coral Cup, and this is an expectation bordering on the unreasonable.

However, despite logic dictating that this is a huge task, and the defeats of Cardinal Hill and His Song only emphasised that, there are almost equally compelling reasons for thinking the task could be answered.

Nick Dundee must be the Irish banker of the day, if not the entire meeting. His record, and the impression he has left in establishing it, can make it no other way. Since Norman Williamson and himself had a difference of opinion on his jumping debut at Gowran, the communication systems between them have been completely ironed out and his two recent successes at Leopardstown screamed class.

Those looking for a reason to oppose Nick Dundee will no doubt point to his short price and the questionable record of favourites in the past in the Royal & SunAlliance Chase.

For every Florida Pearl there has been a Mr Mulligan, or a Harcon, or a One Man. Take your pick. It's true that three miles and a furlong around here on softish ground is a demanding test and it's true that Spendid and Lord Of The River are talented novices but they simply have not shouted quality in their performances like Nick Dundee has. The ground, although drying out, should still retain enough "squelch" for Edward O'Grady's charge and given even average luck in running Nick Dundee is impossible to oppose.

The build up for the Royal & SunAlliance Hurdle has tended to suggest that Alexander Banquet has only one horse to beat, the much hyped North of England hope Barton. That is some insult to the likes of the four-year-old Behrajan and the talented if slightly quirky Arctic Camper.

Alexander Banquet, however, looks another Irish hotpot that is very difficult to oppose. In character he may possess all the dash and vigour of Jack Dee but once Ruby Walsh presses the afterburner Alexander Banquet is a teak tough customer who allies a gusto for a fight with considerable class. Still unbeaten, he may not do anything flashy but if it comes to a scrap, Barton will be going into the unknown. For Alexander Banquet it will be old and familiar territory.

Hill Society and Papillon go for Ireland in what looks a weaker than usual Queen Mother Champion Chase. Hill Society has run blindingly good races in his last two visits to the festival and those looking for an each way investment could do a lot worse. However this looks a race where it could be dangerous to take too strong a view. Call Equiname won well at Kempton last time and has the services of the current "head waiter" Mick Fitzgerald.

The Wexford jockey will have to be at his coolest though on a horse who doesn't like to be in front too long and doesn't appeal as one of the favourites. Edredon Bleu won the Grand Annual under a dashing ride from Tony McCoy last year. The champion jockey may have to be at his brilliant best again but Edredon Bleu is the tentative selection.

The traditional seat of Irish festival dominance is the Weatherbys Champion Bumper but the former Paddy Mullins trained Golden Alpha, now under the care of Martin Pipe, is being talked up as a very realistic threat. Pipe's record means that Golden Alpha cannot be ignored, nor can Biliverdin who has been the most hyped of the Irish, but preference is for Ingonish.

Noel Meade's horse only beat Billywill in the stewards room at Christmas but the pace of the race was farcical, Ingonish has improved significantly since and as a six-year-old he should possess the hardiness for the cut and thrust of the race.

The Coral Cup can be a punters death-trap and while the chance of Archive Footage has to be respected, this could be a red-letter day for the Queen Mother whose charge Easter Ross should run a big race at a big price.