Murphy is on Salmon

Timmy Murphy will be back on board the star chaser Beef Or Salmon when he runs in next Wednesday's Guinness Gold Cup at Punchestown.

The ankle injury that has kept Paul Carberry on the sidelines since the Aintree Grand National has also cost him the Beef Or Salmon ride next week as connections have opted to side with Murphy's definite availability.

Murphy has ridden Beef Or Salmon 13 times in his career but the last of them was in December of 2004 when the horse ran third to Kicking King in the John Durkan Memorial.

However, one of their biggest victories together came in the 2004 Gold Cup at the Punchestown Festival.

Beef Or Salmon was one of just eight horses left in next week's festival feature at yesterday's forfeit stage, along with the first three in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, War Of Attrition, Hedgehunter and Forget The Past, as well as Michael Hourigan's other star chaser, Hi Cloy.

Asian Maze is one of 16 left in Thursday's Whitewater Champion Stayers Hurdle. Last year's winner, Carlys Quest, is another entry as is the Coral Cup winner Sky's The Limit.

Today's feature at Naas is the Listed Woodlands Stakes and the Yorkshire-based "sprint king" Dandy Nicholls has brought two over for the race, the 2004 Nunthorpe winner Bahamian Knight and Peace Offering.

The ex-Jeremy Noseda-trained Blue Dakota, winner of the Norfolk at Royal Ascot in 2004, is an interesting starter for Jim Bolger but the home defence is again likely to be led by the old-stager Osterhase.

Alone He Stands and Cheddar Island renew rivalry again in the seven-furlong handicap and it could be worth betting that Kevin Prendergast's mount reverses Curragh placings this time.

Cheddar Island looked to have the race sown up at the furlong pole when they last met and if Padraig Beggy delivers a later challenge today then revenge looks on.

Luckyvera has a 5lb penalty for winning at Tipperary on Thursday night and the extra distance of the mile handicap should prove no problem.

Jason Maguire was banned for 10 days (May 2nd, 4th-6th and 8th-13th) for careless riding aboard the second-placed First Fought in the juvenile novices' Hurdle at Sedgefield yesterday.