Istabraq's Champion Hurdle bid may be the main course but as appetisers go, Cardinal Hill looks just the thing to properly tuck into in the opening race of the festival, the Citroen Supreme Novices' Hurdle.
Irish-trained horses have a superb record in this, having won the opener on 31 occasions, and this year's Irish team of five looks exceptionally strong.
Joe Mac has been a talking horse since the first time he stepped on a racecourse and has long been owner JP McManus's idea of a winner of this race. However, the rumour machine about Joe Mac's wellbeing was fairly fizzing some weeks ago and, in any case, Cardinal Hill looks a more suitable winning vehicle for the McManus colours.
Noel Meade has long believed Cardinal Hill to be an exceptional novice, and despite a less than ideal preparation, his opinion can be vindicated today. In the process, Meade would pick up a hugely popular first festival success.
Cardinal Hill's only defeat came when a mistake down the backstretch at Fairyhouse in November changed the game plan completely and Cardinal Hill ended up in the lead much too soon.
Meade was less than happy with Paul Carberry's riding; yet, despite the wrong tactics, Cardinal Hill forced Alexander Banquet to pull out all the stops to win.
Since then, Cardinal Hill was mildly affected by a bug that swept the Meade yard but has bounced back from that and put in a scintillating piece of work at Leopardstown eight days ago. That has raised Meade's expectations even higher, and if Carberry takes his time, Cardinal Hill could turn into the straight still on the bridle.
If that occurs, it will be no surprise to see Joe Mac and Colonel Yeager on the scene also. On Leopardstown Christmas running, these two are more or less the same, and considering Joe Mac's difficulty in getting up the gruelling final hill in last year's Bumper, the Colonel looks a better value each-way bet.
However, the confidence in Cardinal Hill has been increasing appreciably in the last week and it will be a major blow to Irish punters if it's not justified.
His Song will be the major Irish hope in the Guinness Arkle Trophy and it's hard to argue with the overall balance of his form this season. At Christmas he looked the real deal, and a subsequent close finish can be explained by having had a 10-day lay-off in between races. Mouse Morris is sure to have His Song in A1 shape today and there will be no more motivated rider than Shay Barry. However, if the last two years have thought us anything, it is that French-bred five-year-olds have a huge advantage at the weights in this race, and considering that Makounji also gets a sex allowance, she looks thrown in here off just 10st 9lb.
Nicky Henderson has his string in blinding form at present. The mare is being equipped with headgear, which should sharpen her up and significantly, and she goes in this race rather than the theoretically weaker Cathcart Chase on Thursday. The Meade-trained Advocat is a realistic each-way alternative.
