Asian Maze has a 100 per cent winning record at Punchestown and that looks set to continue this afternoon with the fourth Grade One triumph of her remarkable career. The Tom Mullins-trained mare completed a Grade One double at Liverpool and Punchestown last year and she will be a hot favourite to double up again in the €200,000 Whitewater Champion Stayers Hurdle.
Aintree and Punchestown are very different tracks but they seem to bring the best out of Asian Maze who made up for an interrupted season with a 17-length demolition of Hardy Eustace earlier this month. But it was her win here last year, which brought her course record to three from three, that prompted Mullins to describe it as "a Dawn Run performance".
For the Mullins family there is no higher praise and the regard Asian Maze is held in can be gauged by her presence among the five declarations for tomorrow's ACC Bank Champion Hurdle.
In this afternoon's company, a vintage Asian Maze performance should see her win easily especially since she shouldn't be one of those concerned about the state of the ground.
The Tote.ie Champion Four Year Old Hurdle is an all-Irish affair with the in-form Willie Mullins team pitching in the trio of Mister Hight, Quatre Heures and Clear Riposte.
Mister Hight was hugely fancied in the Triumph but was one of the Mullins horses most affected by the illness bug that struck at the worst possible time.
This time round there must be a concern about the going as Mister Hight's best form is on soft and in the circumstances the best option today could be Breathing Fire.
Jessica Harrington's runner is still a maiden over jumps but was running a good race in the Triumph when exiting at the last. He has four and a half lengths to make up on Mister Hight from Leopardstown form but the ex-Willie Musson flat winner may be better suited to quicker ground this time round.
Day One here provided conclusive proof that Willie Mullins is back to form and the former champion trainer can emphasise the point again now.
Just six line up for the Swordlestown Cup Novice Chase and the betting is likely to be dominated by last week's Powers Gold Cup winner Justified who bypassed Tuesday's Champion to wait for the novice option.
Justified is clearly a major talent judged by the way he overcame an alarming tendency to jump left and still hand In Compliance a comprehensive beating.
In Compliance is back for another crack but will hardly be suited by the drop back to two miles while Accordion Etoile's jumping has not been impressive at both Cheltenham and Aintree.
If there is a threat to Justified, apart from his own habit of not jumping straight, it could come from the Mullins-trained Davenport Democrat.
This horse comes here comparatively fresh with just two runs in the last six months and won't be inconvenienced by the ground.
Irish Invader looked to catch the tail end of the Mullins bug when beaten almost 50 lengths at the Curragh on his last start. Before that he had won on his New Year's Day debut and was clearly highly regarded within the yard. He looks worth another shout in the bumper now that the stable is back in form.
Enda Bolger has won the famous La Touche over the banks race for the last eight years and this time fields both Spot Thedifference, who won in 2004, and last year's winner Good Step.
Native Jack upset the Bolger party in the cross-country race at Cheltenham but the Co Limerick trainer can get his own back over this terrain and maybe Spot Thedifference will do it.
