Florida Pearl to silence doubters

Northern Ireland's richest race, the £100,000 Nicholson Champion Chase, has attracted a range of runners as fascinating as the prize pot.

Top of the seven-strong list is the hardy veteran Dorans Pride. Then there is the English interest provided by the 1998 Gold Cup runner-up Strong Promise. Throw in the flamboyant, rising star in the grey Ferbet Junior and there is a race to savour.

Still, one of sport's most popular angles is that of rehabilitation, and today's show looks set to be all about Florida Pearl.

To call the seven-year-old a fallen hero says more about the expectations of fans than about the horse. Any young chaser that achieves a 165 rating and has been beaten only twice in completed races can hardly be classified as a failure.

But Florida Pearl's potential had a nation in thrall last winter. The latest "best since Arkle" was built up to be the second coming of Pegasus, and when he ultimately finished third in the Gold Cup Holy Grail the disappointment was palpable. In short, we lost the run of ourselves.

The most popular of the subsequent excuses for Florida Pearl was that he didn't stay. This, about a Hennessy winner, is debatable.

The majority of Willie Mullins' horses didn't fire on Cheltenham week, and it's likely the real, 100 per cent Florida Pearl didn't show up on Gold Cup day.

If he shows up today he will be very hard to beat, even in the light of a relatively disappointing piece of work eight days ago. After all, others in the field have question marks too. How will Strong Promise, after one spin over hurdles, return to the top flight, especially on soft ground? How will Ferbet Junior cope with the three mile plus trip? How will Dorans Pride and new rider Paul Hourigan click?

In that light, a mildly disappointing piece of work doesn't seem so important, and with Paul Carberry, the ideal, waiting jockey on his back, Florida Pearl is taken to regain the winning habit and maybe re-ignite all those Gold Cup hopes again.

Carberry will be short odds to take the Tatts Hurdle on Greenstead also, while the veteran rider looks to have reasonable prospects of bowing out on a winner in the shape of the ex-German Aldino in the opener.

Today's other fixture is at Naas, which has a card worthy of a normal weekend centre stage.

The most valuable contest is the Brown Lad Handicap Hurdle which features Limestone Lad and Samapour. Samapour, freed from big weights for once, is given the nod. The veteran Padre Mio is given the nod in the Cox Handicap Chase.