Step two in the comeback of the former Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Kicking King is set for Saturday, when Tom Taaffe's star returns to Gowran Park for the Grade Two Red Mills Chase.

Top-flight winners like Hi Cloy, One Cool Cookie and Justified are among the dozen entries left in the two-and-a-half-mile contest after yesterday's forfeit stage, but it still looks to be dominated by the 2005 blue riband champion.

Kicking King will work this morning ahead of the race, which Taaffe believes will be ideal for the horse, whose return to action after more than two years off with leg problems yielded a hugely promising second to Nickname at Gowran on Thyestes day last month.

"I've said all along I want to get to Cheltenham on an up, and this race will be the ideal stepping stone," the Straffan-based trainer said yesterday. "It was two miles the last day, he's had a break, and now he's up to two-and-a-half. The ground will be improving too, which is magic. Genuine good ground is what he is best on."

Kicking King is disputing third favouritism for the Gold Cup with Exotic Dancer at a general 10 to 1, as the Paul Nicholls pair of Kauto Star and Denman dominate the head of the betting.

However, Taaffe isn't viewing Saturday's prep' as a "must win" proposition.

"This is all about steps and this race will be part of the programme. Obviously if we want to be competitive at Cheltenham he will want to go well at the weekend, but he is in great form," Taaffe added.

"The first step over two miles went great. In fact, even in the early stages of his career I don't think he ran as well over two miles. Now we will see what happens on Saturday."

Michael Hourigan is set to throw both Hi Cloy and Arteea at the Red Mills, but former Powers Gold Cup winner Justified also holds an entry in the Grade Two Centenary Trial Hurdle on the same card.

Fifteen entries remain in the race, which proved a final Cheltenham prep for Hardy Eustace before his Champion Hurdle victory in 2004.

A number of Champion Hurdle outsiders are potential starters on Saturday, including the Noel Meade pair Aitmatov and Jazz Messenger, as well as Catch Me and De Valira, all of whom are generally available at 40 to 1 in Cheltenham betting.

Also at those odds is the Dermot Weld-trained Bobs Pride, who remains a Champion Hurdle possible although improved ground conditions are regarded as a must for the former Group Three flat winner.

"Over hurdles he has shown a marked preference for top of the ground, so we will have to see what the weather does towards the end of the week," Weld said yesterday.

"The alternative for him is that mile-and-a-half handicap at Dundalk on the 29th. It will be either that or Gowran, and he is entered in the Champion Hurdle."

The current Champion Hurdle title-holder Sublimity is second favourite to Sizing Europe in ante-post betting, and John Carr confirmed yesterday the horse will go straight to the festival rather than take in a warm-up race.

"He's not going anywhere," the Maynooth trainer said. "We just thought another run would have been closer than ideal. The race is a month away and we will take him away four times. There will be a racecourse gallop in there somewhere as well.

"It's all about Sizing Europe now, which suits us down to the ground because the pressure is off me," he added.

In other Cheltenham news, Kerry trainer Tom Cooper has declared he will not risk his impressive Deloitte winner Forpadydeplasterer in the Ballymore Properties Novice Hurdle if the going at the festival turns quick.

"The Ballymore is very much the plan, but I would not want to see the ground too fast. There would be no doubt in my mind if the going is too quick - I wouldn't risk him," Cooper said.

"He is a big horse, very lightly raced and we have to mind him and bide our time. We will keep him ticking over. We'll take him to the beach, he loves it there, and we will keep him fresh and well," he added.

Minister for Sport Seamus Brennan officially opened the new Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) headquarters outside Newbridge yesterday. The 28,000 sq ft facility is situated in Ballymany, near the Curragh racecourse, and will be the workplace for 110 HRI employees.