Leopardstown preview: Michael Hourigan yesterday gave an "everything-is-fine" report on the raging hot favourite Beef Or Salmon ahead of Sunday's Hennessy Gold Cup. In fact, the trainer was so upbeat he playfully suggested his only pre-race worry was if Paul Carberry was out hunting!

Considering it's not that long ago that the former champion jockey was once put on the injury list by an irate stag, Hourigan's concern won't have been abated by what he might have heard later: Carberry did indeed spend the day hunting.

But then Hourigan also knows better than most that Beef Or Salmon's new regular jockey instinctively plays by his own rules.

Tomorrow's €180,000 Leopardstown feature will be just the third time Carberry has ridden Beef Or Salmon.

To date he boasts a 100 per cent record on the horse and if that doesn't remain the same at nearly 4 p.m. tomorrow then an awful lot of Cheltenham Gold Cup dreams and vouchers will have been ripped to shreds.

As low as 4 to 9 in some ante-post lists for the Hennessy, Beef Or Salmon has almost a stone and a half in hand of his nearest rated rival.

That horse is the admirable but well-exposed Cloudy Bays and while the Gold Cup outsider Pizarro has been mooted as a likely danger he has a lot to make up in terms of form and handicap rating.

The same comment applies to Rule Supreme, whose Cheltenham aim is the Ladbrokes World Hurdle while the sole English raider, Murphy's Cardinal, hasn't run in two months and that was a disappointing fourth at Sandown.

It's little wonder then that Hourigan, a Hennessy winner with Dorans Pride in 1998 and Beef Or Salmon himself two years ago, had the air of a relaxed man yesterday.

"My horse is fine. He jumped four hurdles this morning and everything is fine," he said.

Even the possibility of a falsely run race, which he had expressed earlier in the week, has disappeared.

"They've all stood their ground so we should be okay. I will leave the tactics to Paul. He does his own thing anyway!"

Carberry agreed that the seven-strong field is important but true to form, he stressed: "I will see how the race happens. I suppose if there's one to look out for it will be the English horse."

Noel Chance's Murphy's Cardinal has been beaten only once and does have a lot of potential but it is a decade since the last cross-channel raider won the Hennessy.

Traditionally, tomorrow's card is hugely significant in terms of Cheltenham and the Deloitte Hurdle has thrown up the festival winners, Brave Inca (2004) and Like-A-Butterfly (2002) recently.

Just eight line up this time and Mick Fitzgerald will be on board Royal Paradise for the first time since the partnership beat Wild Passion in a Roscommon maiden last October.

Three runs since have yielded two wins, the second of which, here at Christmas, propelled Tom Foley's horse near the top of the SunAlliance betting.

He has James Bowe's Sweet Kiln to cope with this time but a stamina test should not find Royal Paradise wanting.

Carberry is on Augherskea in this and it could be a very big day indeed for the jockey if Noel Meade's horses bounce back to their best.

Mark The Man was pulled up in the Christmas Grade One won by Forget The Past but has a huge home reputation and will attempt to earn his Cheltenham ticket in the PJ Moriarty.

If back to his best Mark The Man will be a danger to all but at the moment that is a big "if" and preference is for Newmill, who Barry Geraghty has remained loyal to despite Jessica Harrington having two horses in the race.

Arch Rebel is the Meade-Carberry runner in the Cashmans Hurdle but the same "if" applies to him and the horse he beat at Christmas, Don't Be Bitin, could change places now that he is reunited with Ruby Walsh.

Last year's winner Never Compromise is back for the Raymond Smith Hunters Chase and on the back of a Thurles victory he looks hard to ignore.