Grounds for concern

Punchestown NH Festival/Day Four preview: All the evidence suggests the opposition will get close to Brave Inca in today's ACC Bank Champion Hurdle but not quite close enough to beat him. Like his jockey Tony McCoy, it's not in Brave Inca's nature to give best at the finish.

The opportunity for the Champion team to prove that yet again could depends, however, on a morning inspection of the track by trainer Colm Murphy who is wary of the ground getting too fast.

"I will walk it and I would have no qualms at all about pulling him out if the ground gets any quicker than it is," warned Murphy yesterday.

"He seems in great order and I couldn't be happier with him. We have freshened him up since Cheltenham and he will be a pretty fresh horse."

If Punchestown's overnight watering policy is sufficient for Brave Inca to get the green light, it will be his fourth race at Punchestown and an opportunity to extend his 100 per cent winning record at the track.

The previous three victories include this race last year by a head, and the champion novice in 2004 by a short head.

A half length defeat of Essex in the Morgiana earlier this season was almost flamboyant by Brave Inca standards.

But the Champion proved at Cheltenham last month that while it might not always be silky smooth, this remarkable horse does tend to get the job done. McCoy's presence on his back hasn't exactly hurt him on the doggedness score either and the champion jockey was in confident mood yesterday despite the small field.

"I think the small field might be to his advantage," considered McCoy who believes the 2004 winner, and former double Cheltenham champion Hardy Eustace, is the danger.

"Macs Joy will sit in and probably try to pounce but Brave Inca has proved he is a very hard horse to pass."

Dessie Hughes gave an upbeat report on Hardy Eustace who ran third at Cheltenham and got bogged down on gluey ground when runner-up to Asian Maze at Liverpool.

"He has been to Cheltenham and Aintree but he should be fresh enough and he will love the ground," he said.

Macs Joy has been runner-up to Brave Inca at Cheltenham and in the AIG and it would be interesting to see what he might do if Barry Geraghty launched a challenge away from the favourite in the style of Azores Vip Executive Hotel Observatory beating the notoriously tough Giants Causeway in the QEII six years ago.

But Brave Inca has been in the form of his life this term and can wind up an almost perfect season with the eighth Grade One win of his career.

That would mean the three major championship winners at Cheltenham would also have followed up at Punchestown and there will be plenty willing to bet that the SunAlliance hero Nicanor will also pick up the Dunboyne Castle Hotel Champion Novice Hurdle.

The ground is a question mark though as this will be the fastest surface that Nicanor will have tackled to date.

The same can also be said of Mounthenry who will be ridden for the third time in his career by Davy Russell.

One man eager to see the quick ground, however, is Michael Hourigan who has been keen all winter to see how Mossbank will act on it.

The trainer suspects it will suit and although Mossbank's form figures have trailed off dramatically he could be worth a shout at a big price today.

Conditions will be ideal for Pedrobob who returned from a 213 day lay-off to run second to the smart Thyne Again earlier this month.

Four wins in a row before that all came on a fast surface and he should be fresh for the two mile novice hurdle.

After Female made a winning debut at Navan in December, Christy Roche described the half sister to Joe Mac and Direct Route as "special."

He also spoke of the Bewleys Fillies Bumper as being the "dream" for the JP McManus- owned mare.

In between Female ran a very decent seventh place at Cheltenham and the trainer's son Pádraig can steer her to success and bring off a long time plan.