Gilgamboa on course to line up in Grade One Irish Arkle at Leopardstown

Gilgamboa could put his Cheltenham festival credentials to a Grade One test in Leopardstown at the end of the month.

Unbeaten in two starts over fences, including when a hugely impressive winner of Limerick’s Grade Two Christmas festival highlight, Gilgamboa is on course to line up in the Frank Ward Irish Arkle where he faces a possible clash with the might of Willie Mullins’s novice team.

Mullins has both Un De Sceaux and Vautour in contention to run in the race while Clarcam, the horse that landed the Grade One St Stephen’s Day feature over Vautour, is being targeted at the race too.

Gilgamboa skipped that top-flight race in favour of Limerick but with limited options for another run ahead of March’s festival, a first Grade One test over fences is looking likely.

"The Irish Arkle has been spoken about and he is in it. I don't know for definite yet but there aren't really too many other options," trainer Enda Bolger said. "It looks like being a hot race with Un De Sceaux and Gordon Elliott's horse (Clarcam) in there too. But it's definitely an option for our horse."

Gilgamboa won over the two mile Arkle trip on his chasing debut at Navan and won over just shy of two and a half miles at Limerick when ultimately scoring by an eased-down 24 lengths.

JP McManus's former Boylesports Hurdle winner is a 12-1 shot for Cheltenham's Arkle in March but a general 8-1 shot for the festival's two-and-a-half mile Grade One novice event, the JLT.

Minimum trip

“Everything’s open to him. He was finishing off well at the end of two miles and three on soft ground at Limerick so I would imagine two and a half isn’t an issue with him.

“We will try to keep him to the minimum trip for as long as we can and the Leopardstown race will be a big factor in what we decide to do with him afterwards,” Bolger added.

The Bruree, Co Limerick -based trainer remains the most successful trainer in the history of Cheltenham's cross-country feature, the Glenfarclas Handicap Chase, with four wins and expects Quantitativeeasing to be his main hope this year.

With the top English horse Blathazar King reportedly likely to skip the festival in favour of another Grand National attempt, some bookmakers have latched on to Bolger’s record and quote several of his horses at the top of their betting lists.

Quantitativeeasing, last seen running over hurdles last month, was pulled up in last season’s cross-country event at Cheltenham but is an 8-1 shot in some ante-post markets.

Another Bolger runner, Be Positive, tops some lists at 5-1 but the trainer explained: "He's only five and came back in late so the Ladies Cup (Punchestown) is what we have in mind for him."

Love Rory is another stalwart over the banks but Bolger said: “He could turn out in the PP Hogan race next month but Cheltenham is not on his agenda. We’re looking at the La Touche with him. Quantitativeeasing is our main one for Cheltenham.”

The betting

Gilgamboa was a 10-1 winner of last year’s Boylesports Hurdle at Leopardstown and the McManus team dominate the top of the betting for the 2015 renewal on Sunday week.

The big-race sponsors moved quickly to make the Nicky Henderson-trained Snake Eyes, sixth in the race last year, their 8-1 favourite for the featured €100,000 hurdle on the back of a return success at Sandown last month.

Noel Meade’s Waxies Dargle, not seen since scoring impressively at Fairyhouse in November, is a 9-1 shot while the Christmas winner Shantou Ed is at 12-1.

Willie Mullins, a triple winner of the race, has six of the 42 entries left in the race, including Clondaw Warrior and Lucky Bridle, who Boylesports rate at 10-1.

The champion trainer has also left in Sunday’s Grade One novice winner, Mckinley.

Another top-flight scorer, Tiger Roll, tops the weights while Arthur Moore, a six-time race winner in the past, could rely on Sea Beat who has been given 9.12 in the long handicap and is rated a 14-1 shot by the sponsors.

Sunday week's other big €100,000 handicap will be the Boylesports Chase, an option Enda Bolger has kept open for his progressive Federici. Last year's winner He'llberemembered has been given 10.10 by the handicapper while the Colin McBratney-trained Marito (11.10) tops the weights, just ahead of the Paddy Power runner-up Foxrock who is on 11.18.