There may be six declared for tomorrow's Ericsson Chase but there is no doubt that the eyes of thousands will be be centred on just two. So much so that the hype merchants, who relish head-to-head clashes , may yet get to justifiably use the word titanic if Dorans Pride and Imperial Call both show their best. The happy signs are that they could.
As the 1996 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Imperial Call would normally be expected to start favourite for a race like this but he has been plagued with niggy problems since that momentous day and there is also the not insubstantial fact that Dorans Pride is a horse who appears totally deserving of heading the current Gold Cup market.
However, Dorans Pride will have to beat the former champion today to retain that position and that is no certainty such was the impression Imperial Call left in his warm-up over hurdles at Navan last Saturday.
There the Fergie Sutherland trained horse made an all but top-class hurdler in Cockney Lad give everything to win. Considering the race was short of Imperial Call's best distance and he continually gave away ground through jumping high, it was a remarkable effort to get within a length of Cockney Lad and he delighted both Conor O'Dwyer and Sutherland.
Sutherland yesterday reported himself equally happy with Imperial Call's condition now and considering Dorans Pride's trainer Michael Hourigan had to settle for a Christmas dinner of just a ham sandwich due to the power failures in Limerick, he too was happily hopeful of success yesterday!
"Dorans Pride is adaptable in his races so if we have to make the running, he will. The way Imperial Call ran at Navan though, he could make it," Hourigan said.
Dorans Pride's overall steeplechase form was boosted by the King George win of See More Business whom Dorans Pride beat twice last season and his progress through this season has been admirably smooth.
He has already beaten Imperial Call at Clonmel last month and although Imperial Call will strip a fitter horse this time, Dorans Pride has been so impressive in any chase he has completed that it is hard to desert him now. The finding out for sure tomorrow though should be fascinating.
The afore mentioned Cockney Lad has his own exploratory mission tomorrow when he goes over three miles in the Woodies DIY Christmas Hurdle to find out if Cheltenham's Stayers Hurdle is a more realistic target for him than the Champion Hurdle. Even with this very heavy ground to tackle, he is difficult to oppose.
Certainly the weights favour Cockney Lad against what is likely to be his main opponent Antapoura and it's worth chancing that Noel Meade's horse will last out the trip.
Meade also looks set to take the Stillorgan Orchard Hurdle with Native Estates, who has created a big impression with his last two races at Fairyhouse and Navan and should have no problem coping with both the ground and the distance. Oonagh's Star can give him most to do.
The Ladbroke Hurdle favourite Commanche Court is set to have his warm-up in the RTE for Sport Handicap Hurdle and although his 11.7 will be a job to carry, he is such a tough animal that he can defy it and pick up this race without picking up a penalty for the Ladbroke.
Joking Aside won very well on the heavy at Thurles last time and can be fancied in the bumper while Boss Doyle is the selection in the Neville Chase.
