Great Field© Photo Healy Racing
Great Field makes his long-awaited return to action in the Toals.com Bookmakers Webster Cup at Navan on Sunday.
The Willie Mullins-trained seven-year-old carried the colours of JP McManus to four consecutive victories over fences last season and was a brilliant winner of the Grade One Ryanair Novice Chase at the Punchestown Festival.
He has not been seen in competitive action since that top-level triumph 11 months ago, but is likely to be a warm order to give weight and a beating to four rivals in this Grade Two contest.
Great Field will need to be on his game to see off a race-fit and bang-in-form Doctor Phoenix.
Snapped up for just 10,000 pounds last May, the 10-year-old has proved an extremely shrewd purchase for the Nick Bradley Racing Club, winning three times including the valuable Dan Moore Memorial Chase at Fairyhouse and a Grade Three at Naas last month.
Will Smith, the National Hunt racing manager for the successful syndicate, said: "He's won a valuable handicap and a Grade Three and deserves to step up again.
"Great Field is an unbeaten chaser and a Grade One winner. He's been off for a while, but I'm sure Willie Mullins wouldn't be running him if he wasn't happy with him and I'm sure he'll be a tough opponent.
"He looks a bit of a tearaway, so whether we can keep up with him we'll have to see.
"We've been in bonus territory with our horse ever since he finished second on his first run at Cork. He paid back what we paid for him that day.
"We're in dreamland to some extent. He's been brilliant for us and we're hoping for another decent run."
Doctor Phoenix is one of two runners for Gordon Elliott along with Tell Us More.
Henry de Bromhead's Alisier D'Irlande and Inis Meain from Denis Hogan's yard complete the quintet.
Just three horses contest the Grade Three Flyingbolt Novice Chase and it looks a straight match-up between the Mullins-trained Saturnas and Elliott's Tombstone, with Hogan's The Irregular seemingly out of his depth.
A Grade One-winning novice hurdler Saturnas opened his account over fences at the second attempt at Fairyhouse in January.
The Irish Racing Writers Kingsfurze Novice Hurdle is at least a little more competitive.
Mullins relies on Draconien, Elliott saddles Cartwright and Roaring Bull and Joseph O'Brien's High Sparrow and John Kiely's Rock De Baune add further strength in depth to a seven-strong field.
Draconien was an emphatic victor on his hurdling debut at Clonmel in December, but he was well-beaten on his return to the track the following month.
