The willingness of owners of top jumpers to take on one another is what lifts National Hunt racing onto a different plane for Irish fans. Such a clash, between Imperial Call and Dorans Pride, in the Morris Oil Chase will therefore ensure a bumper crowd this afternoon.

There may be only three runners, and Merry People will start the long odds outsider of three, but the presence of the favourite for next year's Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup and a previous Gold Cup winner are attractions enough.

This will be the third encounter between the pair. The first took place over hurdles at Naas three years ago when Dorans Pride, in receipt of 5lbs, won by a short head and then in this year's Gold Cup, where Imperial Call started favourite but pulled up, Dorans Pride ran third to Mr Mulligan.

For a novice that was a spectacular performance and he has started the current campaign with a thrashing of the subsequent Galway winner Lord Singapore in the Guinness Kerry National.

The Irish handicapper, however, still has Imperial Call 4lbs higher in the ratings and the question he has to answer is whether or not he has come back to his proper form. Anne Sutherland, wife of trainer Fergie, said yesterday: "Nothing went right last year, but he is very well in himself now."

The indications are that he has done plenty of work for his comeback in an event that he won two years ago but, at this level of competition, it is hard to match the value of a proper race.

Michael Hourigan, also confirming the well being of Dorans Pride, said that he was "on course for this race and the step down to 2m 4f does not bother me".

I would like to think that Imperial Call can do himself justice for, in the lead up to his 1996 Gold Cup win, he put up a sparkling show on Ladbroke Day to beat the very speedy Strong Platinum over 2m 2f at Leopardstown.

Until Imperial Call answers the racecourse test though, the only logical selection is Richard Dunwoody's mount. This is not, however, a race for betting on but rather the chance to relish two fine horses testing one another for any sign of weakness.

Hourigan and Dunwoody can also share in a win for another nice young horse, Zaffaran Run, in the Irish National Hunt Novice Hurdle.

Considering that he had been running in point-to-points back in the spring and bumper races after that, it was a brave challenge to take on Munif, a horse with a flat race rating of 100, at Thurles last month.

The decision went Munfif's way, but Zaffaran Run was a well defined second best.

Demi O'Burne who has bought so many good horses in Europe and America for Michael Tabor has an interesting jumping prospect in the bumpers' winner Fountain Page, who goes for the Cashel Maiden Hurdle.

Dublin Flyer heads the weights for the Murphy's Gold Cup at Cheltenham a week on Saturday.

Tim Forster's 11-year-old, successful in the race two years ago, slipped up when still in the lead last year, victory going to Challenger du Luc.

The latter, trained by Martin Pipe, has been allotted 10st 9lb and is a likely runner. Coome Hill may reappear in the two and a half mile chase before going on to the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup, which he won last year, at Newbury a fortnight later.