Cork preview: McNamara looking for win as trainer

Cork’s eve-of-Cheltenham card today is not likely to linger in most memories but it could be a landmark fixture for former top jockey Andrew McNamara who will aim for a first success as a trainer with Val de Ferbet.

A decade after a Champion Chase victory on Newmill, McNamara saddles just his second runner in a 2½-mile conditions hurdle, and Val de Ferbet looks capable of defeating his former stable companion Tennis Cap.

It could prove a notable day for the McNamara family, with Andrew McNamara Snr aiming for a quick follow-up in the amateur handicap hurdle with topweight Stolberg. This one makes a quick reappearance under a 6lb penalty after winning at Limerick on Saturday.

Andrew Lynch could have a good "shout" in the second of the maiden hurdles on Gran Cavallo, while Coole Craft can bounce back from a Limerick defeat on Friday in the two-mile handicap hurdle.