Edredon Bleu is on course to clash with Irish star Beef Or Salmon in what is shaping up to be an exciting renewal of the Clonmel Oil Chase on Thursday.
Henrietta Knight's evergreen 11-year-old has looked as enthusiastic as ever in winning both his starts this season and made all to land the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter last time.
"The plan is to run him against Beef Or Salmon. He goes there at the moment as long as they don't have a monsoon in Ireland," Knight said today. "There's no other race I can find for him in the calendar really until January and it will be too wet for him by then."
Michael Hourigan trains Beef Or Salmon and his only defeat over fences came when he fell in this year's Cheltenham Gold Cup.
He was expected to provide Best Mate with a stern test that day but crashed out at the third fence.
He will be bidding for back-to-back successes in the Clonmel feature - he made his fencing debut in the Grade Two contest last year when he beat Sackville by three and a half lengths.
Knife Edge, Alcapone, Hedgehunter and Midlands Grand National hero Intelligent are among the other possibles in a total entry of 14.