Festival workouts to be the main focus Dispute is settled

RACING: Florida Pearl and Alexander Banquet will lead the post-race workouts at Leopardstown tomorrow as the count down to Cheltenham gathers momentum.

Willie Mullins has used the opportunity to visit Leopardstown and work his horses to great effect in recent years and yet again the focus will probably be more intense after the racing than during it, although a Jackpot carry-over of almost €58,000 is sure to generate great interest.

"It's nicely timed as regards the festival," Mullins said yesterday. "It's good to get a school into them over what are probably the nicest fences in the country. The ground will be heavy but we will tailor our work to suit the going."

"I'm sure more trainers will be on to us over the weekend," said the Leopardstown racing manager Tom Burke. "Unless the weather goes really wobbly, we should be reasonably okay to go ahead. We're not expecting any problems."

That adds to the "no hassle" report from Thurles which is also scheduled for tomorrow despite there being no chases at the Tipperary track.

On the actual racing front at Leopardstown, one of the final pieces in the Champion Hurdle picutre can be filled in by the jumping debut of the Group Three Flat winner Chimes At Midnight.

He goes in the Ballsbridge Hurdle and his trainer Luke Comer advised yesteday: "Don't judge him on Sunday as it looks like being absolutely awful conditions. He seems okay but it's difficult to know if he is back to his best form.

"If there is a small field, I would prefer to run in the Champion Hurdle rather than the SunAlliance. I would prefer the shorter distance and I wouldn't be afraid of any horse."

Chimes At Midnight will have to tackle another smart Flat operator, the Stakes winner Mutakarrim, who will not be suited by testing conditons but who does have jumping experience from the Red Mills Trial.

The Grand National winner Papillon goes under topweight in the handicap chase but might have to give best to Good Shuil whose trainer Tom Taaffe should also win the bumper with the course winner, Kicking King.

The JP McManus colours will be carried in the second maiden hurdle by Hanko who won the third of his three German starts at Baden-Baden in August while the Down Royal "winner" Dantes Reef can put the record straight in the opener. At Thurles, Thursday's easy winner Sharp Risk should be well able to repeat the dose in the handicap.

By Brian O'Connor

A MEETING yesterday between the Horse Racing Ireland chairman Denis Brosnan and both sides of the Punchestown dispute has resulted in an agreement to put differences aside in the interests of April's festival meeting.

As a result, the upcoming extraordinary general meeting of the board of the Kildare Hunt Club has been postponed.

"There was agreement that everybody would work together in the interests of the festival and that the hatchet would be buried," said the HRI chief executive Brian Kavangah last night. Kavanagh was part of the HRI team who met with the disputing parties in a four-and-a-half-hour meeting.