Flooring Porter takes on Bob Olinger in eagerly anticipated Navan clash

Compared to other international weekend features Sunday’s Grade 2 highlight in Navan pales in prize money and prestige terms but it does have the major plus of Flooring Porter versus Bob Olinger.

The Railway Bar Lismullen Hurdle sees the dual-Stayers Hurdle champion Flooring Porter make his eagerly anticipated first start of the season.

It is hardly an easy pipe-opener for Gavin Cromwell’s popular if quirky star as eight opponents include what could emerge as his biggest threat to a famous Cheltenham hat-trick in March.

Bob Olinger has a festival hat-trick of his own in his sights but if the racing world looked at his feet after a superb 2021 Ballymore victory there is plenty uncertainty around his career prospects now.

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Another Cheltenham success last March was more notable for Galopin Des Champs’ final fence exit and Bob Olinger’s chasing balloon looked well and truly burst when subsequently pulled up at Punchestown.

In the circumstances, Henry De Bromhead opting to move him back to hurdles looks a canny move. Lining up in the Lismullen does throw Bob Olinger in at the deep end, however, although he will get a valuable 9lbs from the reigning Stayers champ.

The presence of the big two reduces highly talented types like the Champion Hurdle Zanahiyr to support roles in the build-up at least, although another Cheltenham winner, the 50-1 Coral Cup victor, Commander Of Fleet, is rated to figure prominently and perhaps at a decent price too.

RTÉ will show live coverage of the Navan card while Saturday’s Naas programme is live on TG4.

The brilliant if brittle Ferny Hollow returns to action in Sunday’s Fortria and Willie Mullins has split him up from his Grade 1-winning stable companion Gentleman de Mee.

The latter put no less than Edwardstone in his place at Aintree in April and starts the road to the Champion Chase in Saturday’s Poplar Square Chase at Naas.

All-told, Mullins is facing into a busy weekend with a tri-nation spread of his resources.

He has engaged Bryony Frost to ride the Punchestown winner Williamstowndancer in Saturday’s finale in Cheltenham but before that has Grade 1 ambitions in Paris.

Danny Mullins takes the ride on Stratum in the €350,000 Grand Prix D’Automne, a Grade 1 in Auteuil that Thousand Stars memorably landed in 2015.

A Royal Ascot winner during the summer, Stratum takes on the leading French horse L’Autonamie in a race due off at 3.07pm Irish time.

On Sunday, the champion trainer runs September’s Listowel winner Aghaboy in the €250,000 Grade 1 Prix Cambaceres in Auteuil (12.53.)

Mullins is joined in the valuable juvenile hurdle contest by his nephew Emmet’s McTigue. He won a valuable Grade 2 at the Paris track last month and rider Donagh Meyler maintains the partnership.

Sunday’s Auteuil feature is the Grade 1 Prix La Haye Housselin worth a massive €520,000.

The Mullins-trained Franco De Port ran a fine third to Sel Jem in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris last May and has been sent back for another top-flight crack at the famous circuit.

With Danny Mullins on duty for Flooring Porter at Navan, French-based English rider James Reveley takes the spin on the sole Irish raider in a nine-runner race due off at 2.50pm.

French Dynamite is the sole Irish hope in Cheltenham’s Paddy Power Gold Cup and is a general 4-1 favourite to become just the second Irish trained winner of the famous handicap in over four decades.

Sunday’s handicap feature at Cheltenham is the Greatwood Hurdle which has seen significant ante-post support for one of the Irish hopes, Thousand Tears.