Liverpool Preview:A total of 14 Irish-trained runners will be in action on day one of the Aintree Grand National meeting but, like last year, it could emerge that the visiting team ends up making more of an impression on Saturday's feature event than in the opening skirmishes.
Strangely Brown was the sole Irish winner last year on the opening day of a festival that ultimately peaked on Numbersixvalverde's thrilling National success.
With the top five in the ante-post betting for the Grand National trained on this side of the Irish Sea, hopes can be held legitimately high that a sixth Irish victory in eight years in the world's most famous horse race will unfold.
However an overall festival tally of four, like 2006, is widely considered more likely than 2005's record tally of eight Irish-trained winners.
Half of today's Irish team will line up for the first race of the week over the big fences, the John Smith's Foxhunters, with the former top hurdler Ned Kelly being an interesting runner for the Edward O'Grady team.
Whether or not he takes to the big fences is the main question and it may well emerge that the likes of Arctic Times and Beachcomber Bay turn out to be better value options for the visitors. Scots Grey though could be the best option of all.
The £150,000 Betfair Bowl is the big money pot on offer despite only having Grade Two status and the five runners are headed by the Gold Cup runner-up, Exotic Dancer, who has to concede 4lbs to the blue riband third, Turpin Green.
It's debatable if Exotic Dancer will be as effective around here as he is at Cheltenham and it's also hard to forget how Our Vic came up the hill in the Ryanair at Cheltenham where another couple of strides would have seen him beat Taranis.
For a horse whose resolution and stamina has been questioned in the past, it was a fine effort and Our Vic should appreciate this very different course.
It's the four-year-old hurdle that carries today's Grade One status and after Detroit City completed the Cheltenham-Aintree double last year, there will be plenty willing to bet that the wide-margin Triumph winner, Katchit, will do the same.
Up to last year, however, it was a very elusive double to pull off and anyone looking for an alternative to the favourite might consider how Punjabi pulled off a 19-length success at Kempton the last time he faced a flat track.
But whatever about status and money, the race of the day may well end up being the opening long distance hurdle as the stayers champ, Inglis Drever, again faces the horse he beat at Cheltenham, Mighty Man, as well as the enigmatic Black Jack Ketchum.
The latter's exit at the third flight at Cheltenham robbed the World Hurdle of a lot of interest, despite Inglis Drever's subsequent recovery from an unpromising position.
However if Inglis Drever runs in patches again around this tight course, he will find it very hard to recover, something that only adds to the confidence in Mighty Man's chance.
Mighty Man beat no less than My Way de Solzen in this race last year and is unbeaten in two starts around here.
He will also relish the quick ground conditions and if he doesn't hurt his chance by pulling hard early, as he did at Cheltenham, he looks a good bet to keep his perfect Liverpool record.
The in-form Charlie Swan brought Emmpat back from a six-month absence to win at Fairyhouse on Tuesday and despite being 5lbs out of the Red Rum Handicap proper, Kit Carson could well do something similar for the Tipperary trainer.
The quicker the ground the better for this horse and his Galway second to Gemini Lucy last summer reads pretty well now.
2.00 - Mighty Man
2.35 - Our Vic
3.10 - Punjabi
3.45 - Scots Grey
4.20 - Kit Carson
4.55 - Liberate
5.30 - Flying Falcon
