It is a rarity for a jumper to win at Grade One three years in a row at the same meeting but such is the hat-trick that Istabraq looks set to complete at Fairyhouse this weekend. In previous seasons he has won the Royal Bond Hurdle here as well as tomorrow's target, the Avonmore Waterford-sponsored Hatton's Grace Hurdle.
In the past we have had a winner of this £40,000 feature Dorans Pride go off at odds of 1 to 5, but once Ted Walsh ruled out the possibility of his 1997 Triumph Hurdle winner, Commanche Run, turning out, the probability was that Istabraq will be a warmer favourite still.
Aidan O'Brien had early earmarked this race as the intended second run of the season for his Champion Hurdle winner and when the entries closed, only half a dozen others had been named for a purse of this magnitude.
The battle for second place will concern Master Beveled and Nomadic, and while Nomadic would be a better proposition at two miles, he will be ridden with restraint to help him get the extra half mile.
Irish race-goers have always enjoyed the sight of a star in action, even if the opposition has been weak, and thus Istabraq will make h is contribution to the size of tomorrow's gate.
The two Grade One supporting races, the Avonmore Waterford Royal Bond Novice Hurdle and the Chiquita Drinmore Novice Chase, have, however, succeeded in getting highly competitive contests that are likewise high on quality.
At least four unbeaten hurdles records will be broken in the Royal Bond, where the stars are headed by the Cheltenham Festival Bumper winner, Alexander Banquet, the strong galloping front runner Sunset Lodge, the mudlarking To Your Honour, and the brilliant Cardinal Hill.
It is an indication of just how highly Noel Meade rates Cardinal Hill that J P Mc Manus's other top-notch hurdle prospect, Joe Mac, was never even entered for this contest. I believe that Shean Town can beat Snow Dragon in this afternoon's J C's Supermarket Hurdle, a result that will boost confidence in my Sunday nap, Cardinal Hill, who ran away from Shean Town at Navan.
The Drinmore may be not quite as hot a race but the nine novice chasers declared have all got something to recommend them. Frances Crowley has two runners Moscow Express (Norman Williamson) and Promalee (Ruby Walsh) and either could win. Tony McCoy's mount, Foxchapel King, who gets weight from the pair, will also be a serious contender, but Promalee will do for me.
He emerged a six-length winner over Rainwatch in the Martell Mersey Novices' Hurdle at Aintree in April, while over fences he took the measure of Lanturn at Naas and the loser has in turn promoted himself to the forefront of the Irish challenge for next year's Festival by giving an impressive display of jumping in front at the following Naas meeting.
Having already tipped Cardinal Hill and Shean Town, I am sticking with this line of novice form in picking Kamactay for tomorrow's opener. He was second to Shean Town at Navan, and going righthanded at Fairyhouse previously, had looked a better proposition when chasing home Sunset Lodge.
After laying long odds on Istabraq, it will be the turn of the bookmakers to offer longs odds against any one finding the winner of the following 30-runner handicap. Molly Coates, who was third to Savanagh and Admiral Wings in a four-year-old maiden hurdle at Naas, could be a playful choice.
Today's nap is Sawa-Id to take the Ladbroke New Stand Handicap Hurdle, in the hands of Tom Rudd. This is the course and distance on which Sawa-Id won the first race of 1998 when Kevin O'Brien had only to ride him out with hands and heels to beat Taoibhin. He won an amateur flat handicap at Gowran Park in mid-October beating Which Is Which.
Willie Mullins will be looking for evidence that the form of his stable is holding up this weekend and Kings Return is an attractive proposition in the Blanchardstown Centre Beginners Chase. He badly needed the run, his first since the spring of last year, when unplaced to Rince Ri, but he was still in touch with the leaders four out.
If Kings Return does oblige, then Ruby Walsh could be on the road to a three-in-a row treble. His previous mount, Golden Rule, is impossible to oppose in the juvenile hurdle, while Papillon could be a deserving top weight in the Pierse Porterstown Handicap Chase.
Rumours of a spread betting scandal involving jockeys were last night scotched by the British Jockey Club. Club officials, however, revealed that there have been occasions when they have been alerted by firms to possible betting pattern irregularities.
