Murphy says Brave Inca has had near perfect preparation

Brave Inca's trainer Colm Murphy said yesterday the Smurfit Champion Hurdle favourite Brave Inca has enjoyed a near perfect preparation ahead of next Tuesday's championship.

Murphy put the finishing touches to that preparation at Leopardstown racecourse yesterday morning when he rode Brave Inca himself over a mile and a half.

It wasn't the most searching of gallops but the Co Wexford trainer returned happy and hopeful that the horse will enjoy a trouble-free run-in to the Cheltenham Festival.

"I'm absolutely delighted with that. We went a mile and a half and it was just a case of getting a blow into him. That was his last bit of work and now it's a case of keeping him ticking over," Murphy said.

Brave Inca was third to Hardy Eustace and Harchibald in last year's Champion but will have Tony McCoy on his back and Murphy's belief that he is a stronger horse this time behind him. "There is no doubt he is a stronger horse going over this time. Everything has also gone really well this year. We're as happy as we can be with him. Touch wood everything will go well between now and the race and he scopes well and everything else," Murphy added.

Brave Inca, a 13 to 8 favourite with Ladbrokes, missed out on the general work-outs that took place after racing at Leopardstown on Sunday but that was more a question of superstition than anything else.

"We've done the same thing the last few years and brought him here on the Monday. We didn't want to change the routine with him," Murphy said.

It looks likely that Brave Inca's Champion Hurdle opposition will not include Asian Maze whose number one option remains the Ladbrokes World Hurdle. Asian Maze impressed in a work-out on Sunday under Ruby Walsh and has emerged in good shape from that mile and a half gallop. "It hasn't been easy for her this year as she got injured out of the blue. We could only get her back for Gowran which is not ideal but she has come out of it well," her trainer Tom Mullins said yesterday.

"With the way her preparation has gone, the World Hurdle would seem the obvious race to go for," he added. Mullins hopes Walsh will be available to ride Asian Maze at Cheltenham as well but no certain riding plans will be decided until later in the week. "If she goes for the Stayers', as far as I know, Ruby is definitely available and I think Paul Carberry will be on Rosaker for Noel Meade. For the Champion I think both are kind of available. We will have to see," he said.

"She is in very good form and the only thing that might help her now is for the weather to warm up. I think getting more sun on her back might even bring her on further but otherwise I would say she is 110 per cent," Mullins concluded.

A total of 63 horses remain in the Festival Bumper after yesterday's forfeit stage, including 24 from Ireland. Willie Mullins has five of the Irish team as he bids for a sixth win in the race since it began in 1992. The Mullins team includes the ante-post favourites Ballytrim and Equus Maximus and the Co Carlow is an 11 to 10 favourite to win the race with one of his entries.

Navan racecourse have announced they will host a "retirement party" for the James Bowe-trained mare Solerina at Saturday's meeting. Solerina is about to start a stud career after her racing career was brought to and end last week. She will be accompanied to Navan by her famous former stable companion Limestone Lad. Between the two of them, they won 14 races at the Co Meath course.

Cheltenham officials are hoping the forecast rain materialises ahead of the eagerly-awaited four-day Festival next week.

About 20 millimetres have been predicted over the next few days, which means there would be no need to water the track.

The ground was yesterday described as good, good to firm in places on the two hurdle and chase courses, while the cross-country track remained good, good to soft in places.

"We have significant rainfall forecast over the next three or four days," said clerk of the course Simon Claisse. "Hopefully it will mean we will start the meeting with no good to firm in the ground without having to water.

"Forecasters are saying that by the time we start racing on Tuesday next week, we should have had the best part of 20 millimetres.

"For the meeting itself, it is set to remain relatively mild and I think with some light rain - but that's a long way ahead."