Mullins - poses a puzzle in the Bumper (Getty Images).
KAUTO TO THWART IRISH HOPES
By Alan Sweetman
There is a strong Irish flavour to the Queen Mother Champion Chase, and it is certain that a win for the defending champion Moscow Flyer would provoke a reception to equal any that we have seen at Cheltenham in recent years. To win a third Champion Chase at the age of twelve would be a remarkable achievement. To do so on the back of the campaign that Moscow Flyer has had this season would be extraordinary. Jessica Harrington will have done everything possible to produce Moscow Flyer in the very peak of condition, but the confidence that she had in his ability to show his former brilliance appears to have eroded, and instead the principal Irish hope is Fota Island, last season's progressive Grand Annual winner. Mouse Morris has a fine Festival record, and Fota Island looked in excellent shape when winning his prep-race at Fairyhouse on soft ground that would have been far from ideal for him, though it has to be taken into account that his main rival Central House had a rare off-day on that occasion. Central House, back to form at Punchestown last time, could make a bold bid under Roger Loughran, and Newmill is capable of a big run, but in the final analysis none of the raiders may be quite powerful enough to resist Kauto Star. Neither of the day's main novice races went Ireland's way last season, and it could be a similar scenario this year. Denman is going to be very hard to beat in the Royal & SunAlliance Novices' Hurdle in which Noel Meade's pair, Nicanor and Mr Nosie, and Edward O'Grady's Letterman, are the Irish representatives. Nicanor was very well suited by the race-conditions when beating Travino at Leopardstown in January and has a lot more on his plate now. From the moment that Our Ben finished third in last year's Royal &SunAlliance Hurdle, Willie Mullins put the Royal &SunAlliance Chase at the top of his agenda, and most Irish punters will be prepared to trust that he can improve enough over the extra distance to reverse form with The Railway Man, the Arthur Moore-trained novice to whom he finished third in the Dr PJ Moriarty Chase at Leopardstown. Mullins has won this in the past with Florida Pearl and Rule Supreme, and was not far off-target with Alexander Banquet as well, and Our Ben certainly rates a credible challenger to rivals such as Commercial Flyer and The Listener. Twenty-eight years after celebrating Golden Cygnet's remarkable victory in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, one of the greatest performances in Cheltenham Festival history, trainer Edward O'Grady and owner Ray Rooney team up with Sky's The Limit in the Coral Cup. An easy winner of races at Limerick and Fairyhouse on either side of a second to the very smart Feathard Lady at Down Royal, the French-bred gelding has attracted strong support following an impressive work-out at Leopardstown last Sunday week. As a five-year-old Sky's The Limit may seem to face a stiff task in one of the most competitive handicaps in the calendar, but there must be a real chance that the trip will help to bring about further improvement. He makes more appeal than either the highly progressive Good Thyne Jack, whose sequence of five handicap wins was prefaced by a poor run at the venue in November, or the Pierse Hurdle runner-up No Where To Hyde. In the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Handicap Chase the Irish may struggle against a home team in which last season's Mildmay Of Flete winner Liberthine looks the part. Best of the visitors may be the the Philip Rothwell-trained Black Apalachi. He has a big handicap win under his belt this season, having landed the Paddy Power at Leopardstown, but would prefer soft ground For many Irish punters the finale will represent not just the most intriguing event of the day, but of the whole meeting. It is one of the best-known statistics of the Festival that Willie Mullins is going for a sixth victory in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper, and he will field four runners now that the quietly-fancied Irish Invader has failed to make the cut. All four won first time out, and the likely riding-arrangements have been the subject of much speculation over the past few weeks. It is hardly a surprise that Ruby Walsh has opted for impressive Leopardstown winner Equus Maximus whose form got a fine boost when third-placed Tex Morgan won at Navan last Saturday. The wide-margin Thurles winner Ballytrim will stay every yard and has Johnny Murtagh in the saddle. He looks a likely second-best for the stable ahead of the four-year-old Shady Willow, the mount of David Casey, and Freds Benefit, whose rider Katie Walsh has partnered all four to win. However, the main dangers to Equus Maximus may be the British-trained Kicks For Free, and Tommy Stack's runner Perce Rock. SELECTIONS: 2.00 Denman 2.35 Commercial Flyer 3.15 Kauto Star 4.00 Sky's The Limit (nap) 4.40 Liberthine 5.20 Equus Maximus
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