McCoy teams up with Forty Licks

Weekend previews: Some rare eve-of-Christmas Grade One action takes place at Navan tomorrow and Forty Licks can prove to be the mouth-watering winner of the Barry and Sandra Kelly Memorial Hurdle.

It's the first year the race has been promoted to the top level and the six runners bring an awful lot of long-term potential to the party.

Powerstation and Travino fought out a course and distance thriller here in the Monksfield Hurdle and there were many who still believe Nicanor would have trumped the pair of them if he hadn't fallen at the second last.

Michael Hourigan has already compared Mossbank to his stable star Beef Or Salmon and €9,000 has been paid out by Ryanair's Michael O'Leary to supplement the horse into the race.

But of them all Forty Licks, who now races in the JP McManus colours, looks the most exciting prospect.

Tony McCoy travels over to team up with the former top bumper star for the first time and there should be substantial improvement in the horse on the back of a defeat of Travino at Naas last month.

The €90,000 Grade One is the clear feature but there is also an intriguing five runner novice chase to savour.

The Drinmore runner-up Father Matt puts that form to the test while Southern Vic won at Galway and gave the impression of much better to come.

But if McGruders Cross can build on an impressive win at Clonmel last time, he should make a happier appearance at Navan than he did when exiting four out here last month in a fall that resulted in Ruby Walsh dislocating his shoulder.

The Listed Handicap has some big jumping names at the top of the weights but most attention will probably rest on the bottom end of the scale where Fortmassini tries to complete a hat-trick.

Christy Roche's horse won at Punchestown in October off 88 and quickly followed up at Down Royal.

Now Fortmassini is on a mark of 110 but the ease with which he won in the North hardly makes it beyond the bounds of possibility he can go in again.

Arch Rebel looks impossible to oppose in the opening conditions hurdle while the bookmakers will be carefully watching the confidence behind Dun Doire who goes in the handicap chase on the back of novice wins at Wetherby and Haydock.