It's a splendid fairytale that the majority of Irish punters, and indeed a wider Irish audience, want to come true, but Limestone Lad may well have already lost his chance of festival glory in the Bonusprint Stayers' Hurdle. Contrary to the majority view it's not the drying out ground that is especially worrying owner-breedertrainer James Bowe but the horse's own mindset about being away from his Co Kilkenny home since the weekend.
'He hadn't been eating or drinking properly until last night and has lost a fair bit of condition,' said Bowe's son Michael yesterday. 'I had been seriously thinking of taking him out, until he ate and drank up last night.'
Prior to leaving for Cheltenham, Limestone Lad looked to have thrived on his 11-race campaign so far this season, and with give in the ground and an ideal preparation, he would have been nearly the bet of the meeting. Bowe, however, is not worried about the surface, and added: 'He coped with it well enough at Punchestown behind Istabraq and the ground here looks to be perfectly safe.'
Apart from Galant Moss, it's hard to find anything else in the race that relishes quickish conditions, but of the main contenders, Lady Rebecca has at least won on good to firm, and is just preferred.
A total of eight Irish-trained horses line up for the Elite Triumph Hurdle, but with most of the front-line horses in the antepost betting having gained those positions through soft ground performances, the race now looks wide open. This column's two against the field are Topacio and Fable. Both have flat form on a sound surface, both have looked smart at various parts of the season and both are sound each-way propositions. With the hill in mind, Topacio is marginally preferred.
Sheltering is another perfectly reasonable each-way option for the Foxhunters, but it's very likely that Mighty Moss could be just a different class to these.
The County Hurdle is a typical punters nightmare, although Jonjo O'Neill's Master Tern should be examined. Two and a half miles around Cheltenham are ideal for Castle Sweep and he looks a serious contender for the Cathcart; while Michael Hourigan has long been eyeing a repeat bid at the Grand Annual for last year's fifth, Amberleigh House.
