Pipped at the post for the British trainer's title at the weekend, Willie Mullins will be widely expected to assume his customary Punchestown dominance when the €2.6 million festival gets under way and Yorkhill can immediately set a Grade One tone for the week.
Long since assured of yet another trainer’s title at home with almost €3.7 million in prize money already secured, any presumption that Mullins’s strenuous efforts to secure the British title might impact on the strength of his challenge this week is hardly backed up by his first day prospects at least.
A team of seven runners might be marginally down in quantity but since they include the ante-post favourites for all three Grade 1 races, including two odds-on shots, it really looks like being a case of the opposition feeling the quality.
The scale of matching last year’s unparalleled festival haul of 16 winners is colossal, but few if any are seriously entertaining the idea of anyone else but Mullins being crowned Punchestown’s leading trainer for an 11th time in a row.
Much more difficult to predict is the impact of a long season on horses who might otherwise appear to be form standouts but who might also be incubating thoughts of a refreshing summer out at grass.
Where Mullins has always excelled, however, is at getting his overwhelmingly powerful string to peak and then sustain their form for the valuable spring festivals, so even those diverted to Aintree this year should prove hard to beat.
The one that got closest to beating Yorkhill at Liverpool less than three weeks ago appeared to be Yorkhill himself after he gave Paul Townend a rank time through much of the race. However, he still had enough quality to win snugly.
Raw ability
The impressive Neptune winner gave himself an unnecessarily hard race on that occasion but any impact from that has to be counterbalanced against the raw ability that makes him something of a standout prospect even in the sport’s strongest stable.
Ruby Walsh will hardly thank him if Yorkhill indulges in similar headstrong instincts in the Herald Champion Novice Hurdle on the champion jockey's first racecourse ride back after a wrist fracture.
What will help is a drop back to two miles, something the 2014 Neptune winner Faugheen managed in spectacular style in this race.
Stable companion Petit Mouchoir is among Yorkhill’s big dangers on form but the English raider Cherbel could be the one to serve it up most to the odds-on favourite.
Outlander is Willie Mullins’s hope in the Growise Champion Novice Chase. The Grade 1 winner fell in Cheltenham’s JLT and reappeared quickly to finish runner-up to Kylemore Lough at Fairyhouse. It has been a busy campaign for the Gigginstown runner.
Gigginstown’s star attraction is, however, the Grand National hero Rule The World who famously broke his duck over fences in the sport’s most gruelling race just 17 days ago and yet is pulled out again for this top-flight event.
Michael O'Leary's team also have Sub Lieutenant for this but another owner, Chris Jones, has two hopefuls and Noble Endeavor could ultimately prove a betting option.
Frustration
Davy Russell
has opted to ride Zabana after his JLT nightmare when the former champion jockey was unseated at the start. Noble Endeavor endured his own Cheltenham frustration, exiting at the second last in the four-miler when still in contention despite running too freely in the early stages.
Barry Geraghty takes the reins this time, and in an open looking event Noble Endeavor could represent a touch of each-way value.
His trainer, Gordon Elliott, looks to have two major chances in the €100,000 Goffs Land Rover Bumper. The Gigginstown team rely on their point-to-point winner Hardline but the country's second-ranked trainer is also represented by Brelade. This one made a fine debut at Leopardstown in February when running the highly-rated Aspen Colorado to half a length and should relish better ground.
Elliott is closing in on €2.5 million in prizemoney for the Irish season and has eight runners going on day one, including both Tempo Mac and Automated in the €60,000 handicap hurdle.
