Willie Mullins' Fairyhouse team for the weekend Easter Weekend means one thing only for jumps racing in Ireland and that's the Irish Grand National Festival at Fairyhouse. The Fairyhouse Easter Festival returns from Saturday April 19th to Monday, April 21st with three days of top-class National Hunt racing with over €1.25m in prize money. Willie Mullins may be scrapping for the trainers' title in Britain, but he'll want to keep the home fires burning too and we're looking at some of his potential contenders at Fairyhouse. Fairyhouse Easter Festival Free Bet Offer If you have already signed up to talkSPORT BET, check out more of the best betting sites and casino bonuses Ballyburn The Grade 1 WillowWarm Gold Cup on Sunday could be an ideal target for Ballyburn after he flopped at the Cheltenham Festival last month on his first go at three miles. The trip couldn't be blamed there as he seemed uneasy under the newly adopted waiting tactics, but even so, a drop back to two-and-a-half-miles could be in the offing for a horse who many well placed pundits expect will bounce back to form when we see him next. Spillane's Tower won this contest a year ago for Jimmy Mangan, but with the likes of Fun Fun Fun, Ile Atlantique, Quai De Bourbon and Champ Kiely all amongst the possible entries, Mullins looks set to play some trump cards now. Maughreen Later on Sunday afternoon is the Grade 1 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle where Maughreen could be a major player for the €60,000 top prize. The Walk In The Park mare impressed when winning on hurdles debut at Punchestown in maiden company back in January after missing a year. She was expected to play a leading role at Cheltenham in the Ryanair Mares' Novices Hurdle, but her hopes were all but dashed following a shambolic start that saw her whipping around as the tapes went up and allowing the field to steal a march. That run can be written off and she will surely do better next time, with this Fairyhouse contest a likely target. High Class Hero High Class Hero beat stablemate Lough Lynn in a beginners' chase at Punchestown in February over 2m6½f, the winner travelling powerfully and settling the issue in good style under Paul Townend. He isn't the most experienced chaser, but he was a quality operator in his short stint over hurdles - finishing second in a three-mile Grade 1 novice at Punchestown last spring - and he could be set to excel himself upped in trip/grade for the Irish Grand National in the silks of Sullivan Bloodstock. Tounsivator A shock winner of the Grade 1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle here in December, Tounsivator hasn't quite lived up to his billing in three runs since. They all came in ultra-competitive handicaps, at Leopardstown twice and then last month in the Martin Pipe around Cheltenham off a tough mark of 145 over 2m4f. He could now return to the scene of his biggest success for the Listed RYBO Handicap Hurdle on Saturday afternoon, which would see him drop back in trip to that at which he looked so good in the Royal Bond. Tullyhill Tullyhill shaped with promise on his first two starts over fences, chasing home Majborough here in December and then finishing second to another stalemate, Mistergif, in January at this course. Off that back of those efforts he was odds-on for a beginners' chase at Thurles (2m, good) in February, but Paul Townend was forced to pull him up after some laboured jumping saw his chances extinguished. The Cheveley Park Stud inmate will have something to prove now if he turns up in the Novice Handicap Chase over an extended two-miles on day two.
