Limestone Lad should have little more than an exercise gallop as he tries to notch up the 28th win of a remarkable career at Navan today.
It's not often a £20,000 race can be categorised as a mere work-out, but although His Song and Unsinkable Boxer have enjoyed big days in the past, and Catch Ball remains a potent operator in her own right, today's contest looks just that.
"He is so well in himself that he has to run now. The alternative was to go to Tom Foley's gallop and give him the equivalent of a race but we have some chance of being subsidised at Navan!" quipped Limestone Lad's trainer Michael Bowe yesterday.
He added: "I couldn't be happier with the horse. He has hardly taken his head out of the feedpot since winning at Fairyhouse and if he is nearly as good again, I'll be happy."
Possibly the most intriguing runner today is Macs Gildoran, who returns the to the scene of his ultra-impressive chasing debut last month.
Judged on that effort, the Willie Mullins runner would be almost unbackable for the novice chase but since that he proved a costly failure in Fairyhouse's Drinmore.
The horse ran a lacklustre race, jumped persistently to his left and generally didn't show anything like the level of form he was expected to.
"Nothing has shown up since and I'm keen to go back to where he won before," Mullins said.
The day's Graded race is the Barry & Sandra Kelly Memorial Novice Hurdle, which sees Over The Bar return to the scene of his own impressive success last time out.
Over The Bar put himself to the front of the SunAlliance Hurdle betting with a victory that was even more eye-catching considering he pulled quite hard for much of the race.
Ranged against him are winners like Pietro Vannucci and Winter Man but even with them, and a significant weight concession, there will be some disappointment in the JP McManus camp if those SunAlliance dreams are not still alive by this evening.
Last weekend's Conyngham Cup winner, Pre Ordained, carries 9lb extra in the opening handicap chase but in what is sure to turn into a stamina test, the stone plus that the Thurles scorer Electric Isle receives could be decisive.
Best Wait ran an eye-catching third to Like-A-Butterfly and Sacundai in the Royal Bond and looks thrown into the Powers Handicap Championship.
Bach will be out to give Aidan O'Brien his 24th Group One event of the year in the Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin tomorrow. Michal Kinane takes the ride.
