Combine Gordon Elliott’s red-hot form with his fondness for winners at Navan and he could prove the man to follow on Sunday.
A remarkable haul of 34 winners already this month, including 22 in the last fortnight, indicates how the Elliott team are currently operating.
With 109 winners and over €1.5 million of prize money already in the bag this Irish National Hunt season, Elliott is all but throwing the kitchen-sink at this weekend’s action.
There are eight hopefuls at Gowran’s Saturday programme, while Riviere D’etel is one of a pair of Elliott runners at Carlisle on Sunday.
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However, a mammoth 25 horses will go to Navan from Cullentra including eight in the featured €100,000 Bar One Troytown Chase alone.
Elliott won the Troytown four seasons in a row between 2014-17 and last year with Run Wild Fred.
Shortly afterwards he also saddled a rare 37,204-1 seven-timer at another Navan programme, just missing out on going through the card.
Jack Kennedy’s mount Frontal Assault goes into the Troytown as ante-post favourite, although perhaps the horse Elliott will be most focused on this Sunday will line up an hour earlier.
American Mike takes on four opponents in the Grade Three Lynch Carpets & Flooring Monksfield Hurdle, a race his trainer has landed in five of the last six years.
After a bumper career mostly spent in Facile Vega’s shadow, American Mike got his hurdling career off to an expected successful start at Down Royal earlier this month.
A new opponent like Affordale Fury, twice a winner at Galway, represents a step up again but one American Mike looks well capable of taking in his stride.
Sunday’s other black-type contest is the concluding Listed bumper which contains a pair of Elliott contenders.
Mollys Mango won her last start in Cork, although it is Miss Agusta who looks interesting on her first start for Elliott and Gigginstown.
Despite running free she found only Absolute Notions too good on her sole start to date at Punchestown when in the care of Mags Mullins.
Elliott applies a hood for a task where Miss Agusta gets 7lbs from the shock 40-1 Dublin Racing Festival winner Lily Du Berlais.
Fil Dor’s lot last season was chasing Vauban, including in the Triumph Hurdle, and he again had to settle for runner-up spot on his recent return to action at Naas behind Brazil.
No time is being wasted sending the four-year-old over fences though and with that age allowance he makes plenty of appeal in a beginners’ chase.
Folcano is Elliott’s representative Gowran’s opening beginners’ chase which contains a trio of contenders from Willie Mullins.
Paul Townend has opted to side with the Grade One winning hurdler Minella Coconnor whose free-running style could be tricky on very testing ground.
Journey With Me was behind Minella Coconnor at the Punchestown festival but has always looked a high-class chaser in waiting. He will try to emulate Bob Olinger’s success for the stable in this race a year ago.
