If Moscow Flyer is the raging Irish banker today, then he has only a bit to spare in the rage stakes over Pizarro in the SunAlliance Hurdle.Almost half the 20-strong field are Irish, but Pizarro looks the clear market pick of the lot of them, especially after stable companion Back In Front's winning romp yesterday.
Significantly, seven of the last 11 SunAlliance favourites have won out.
Only for a mid-winter bug, when he was found to have mucus in his lungs after incurring the only defeat of his six-race career, Pizarro could well have come in to this as the Irish banker of the meeting.
A defeat of Solerina at Navan last November when clearly not fully wound up reads extremely well, and he did all he had to do on his comeback at Down Royal.
More significant than that is the regard in which Pizarro is held by Edward O'Grady, who trained two SunAlliance winners in the 1980s.
O'Grady is on record as saying Pizarro is a potential Gold Cup horse, and when the Fethard trainer starts throwing compliments like that it's time to sit up.
"Pizarro isn't as deadly accurate a jumper as Back In Front but he jumps fine and Back In Front wouldn't stay as well as him," he said yesterday.
Of the others, Hardy Eustace is a Grade One winner, and defeated Back In Front while doing it, but it's hard to imagine him having the class to do what Pizarro did to Rhinestone Cowboy in the bumper last year.
Michael Hourigan expects a big run from Hi Cloy without actually winning, and Nil Desperandum is another with each way claims.
Of the home team, Coolnagorna is clearly a class act, but significantly his best performance was on heavy ground at Newbury in December.
Barry Geraghty has an enviable book of rides apart from Moscow Flyer. Barrow Drive is the sole Irish runner in the SunAlliance Chase and the former champion is also on Emotional Moment in the Coral Cup.
As befits a 30-strong handicap, the Coral Cup has a reputation for skinning punters, as shown by four of the last five winners returning SPs of 33 to 1, 25 to 1 and a pair of 16 to 1s.
Nevertheless, Emotional Moment's credentials are hard to quibble with. He has maintained spectacular improvement over the last year, has the speed to win at two miles and the stamina to score over three.
"I'm not saying he is in Limestone Lad's class, but I can't think of another horse that can do that," said his trainer, Tom Taaffe, whose string is in form as shown by Kicking King yesterday.
Other major Irish fancies are Tony Martin's Xenophon and Yeoman's Point, who was a major fancy for the race last year only for an administrative error ruling him out.
Just nine line up for the big novice chase, including the top English hope Keen Leader and the French horse Jair Du Cochet.
Both have dominated the ante-post market despite some less than brilliant jumping, and it must be a worry to Keen Leader fans that he has fallen in both his starts around Cheltenham.
The O'Neill-trained runner looks a less than fluent jumper and appears one to take on with It Takes Time, a double course winner whose jumping looks solid.
Martin Pipe has a formidable record in the Mildmay Of Flete, having won four of the last five renewals, but he could supply the bet of the day in the Weatherbys Bumper instead.
Ireland has won eight of the 10 runnings of this contest and Willie Mullins has secured half of them. He has a quartet this time, but even with them, the Weld- trained Govamix and Best Mate's brother Cornish Rebel in the field, Liberman still appeals.
A length second to Rhinestone Cowboy over the course in November indicates his class, and the fact that JP McManus rates him the bet of the meeting isn't exactly discouraging either.
Pipe has three in the Mildmay Of Flete, but in a desperately complicated handicap those desperate for a bet could do worse than row in with Nicky Henderson's Hermes Lii.
The champion trainer looks sure to have the market leader in the four-mile National Hunt Chase in the shape of the course winner Stormez.
On form this one is pretty hard to oppose, but he may not be an ideal ride for an amateur and Young Ottoman is proposed as an each way alternative.
Davids Lad out of festival
Davids Lad has been ruled out of today's Mildmay Of Flete Chase after the High Court in Dublin yesterday lifted the injunction it had imposed on the horse's ban last Thursday.
That injunction had put on hold a 42-day suspension on the horse that had ruled it out of both Cheltenham and Liverpool. A full hearing will be heard in the High Court tomorrow.
Tony McCoy gave up his remaining rides after the Champion Hurdle yesterday having had falls in the second and third races. The champion was also reported to be dehydrated. However McCoy is confident of riding today.
