Faugheen takes next step towards Buveur D’air Cheltenham clash

If Faugheen fluffs his lines at Leopardstown on Friday there might be a case for letting Buveur D’air just keep his Champion Hurdle crown a dozen weeks ahead of time.

The reigning champion and his 2015 predecessor dominate the Cheltenham crown like no other festival event. In betting terms it’s effectively a match, providing the prospect of a classic head-to-head scenario at the National Hunt festival in March.

Buveur D’air duly met his rehearsal commitments on St Stephen’s Day with a Kempton rout at 2-11 odds.

Now it’s Faugheen’s turn to step up and take another step on-route to a potentially epic clash with his English rival by lining up for the €100,000 Ryanair Hurdle.

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He faces just four opponents, including his stable companion Cilaos Emery and a trio from Gordon Elliott. Anything but a smooth and remunerative lap-of-honour for this outstanding champion will be a major shock.

Of course the Christmas action has already shown how such presumption can be dangerous. Faugheen however has always been that little bit different.

A point to point winner with the looks of a dour Grand National-type stayer has instead become an outstanding operator over flights and achieved ratings to place him at the very forefront of the best hurdlers ever produced in this country.

His Irish Champion Hurdle success here almost two years ago was a performance for the ages. That in turn only made his subsequent 22 month absence from action through injury all the more frustrating.

Rare is the horse that comes back from such a lay-off able to perform to a similar level but Faugheen’s long-awaited return to action in last month’s Morgiana looked an exceptional performance in every way.

Willie Mullins’s team appear convinced Faugheen is as good as ever which is why the prospect of him taking on his English rival for the first time later in the season already has racing fans licking their lips.

Chasing debut

Faugheen’s opposition in the final day festival feature means this shapes as an exercise in star power rather than any obvious competitive exercise. Presumably no one will be looking more keenly than JP McManus and the rest of the Buveur D’air team.

It’s a bigger field for the day’s other Grade One, the Neville Hotels Novice Chase, but much of it looks to revolve a single runner too.

Anticipation about the heights Monalee can reach over fences has been considerable for some time and there was nothing in his impressive chasing debut at Punchestown last month to deflect it.

Henry De Bromhead’s hugely promising youngster is already a general 6-1 favourite for Cheltenham’s RSA and it will be disappointing if he can’t step up and beat a field of decent but hardly exceptional novices here.

Getting run out of the Albert Bartlett last season by a seasoned flat-bred operator like Penhill was no disgrace. However fences have always been the ultimate goal for this former point to point winner and he can successfully take another step up the chasing ladder.

Let’s Dance is a 12-1 third favourite for OLBG Hurdle at Cheltenham but comes back to Leopardstown for the Grade Three mares event with something to prove.

She failed to add to her Cheltenham festival victory in two subsequent starts last season and on her return to action took a crashing fall at Punchestown which left Ruby Walsh with a broken leg.

Her stable companion Karalee comes out at the figures ahead of Let's Dance but jockey arrangements suggest back to back victories in the race can be anticipated.

Minella Encore struggled to justify odds on at Fairyhouse four weeks ago and has to concede an age allowance to a pair of other bumper winners, Daly Tiger and The Gunner Murphy, in the finale.

The Mullins runner could have won a decent race at Fairyhouse though and there’s likely to be much more to come. The bumper form of his stable companions this week is hardly discouraging either.

Ballyward is the Mullins hope in the maiden hurdle. He won a bumper here last Christmas and will be a leading contender although Someday could now be ready to win over flights.

He too is a course bumper winner and ran into Next Destination at Naas before falling three out when going like a winner at Fairyhouse.