Istabraq confirmed his position as Champion Hurdle favourite with a facile win at Leopardstown yesterday, but it was Florida Pearl who pierced the gloom and rain with a sparkling chasing debut that had him saddled with a 25 to 1 for the 1999 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The Cheltenham Bumper winner could hardly have been more impressive. Pre-race concerns that his jumping could be slow and deliberate were burned off after only two fences. Lengthening when required and fiddling the obstacles when he needed to, Richard Dunwoody raced Florida Pearl prominently throughout and from four out, only Delphi Lodge gave him a semblance of a race.

A semblance was all it was, and jumping the last as accurately as the rest, Florida Pearl effortlessly put 20 lengths between himself and Delphi Lodge and went past the post with his ears pricked, looking as if he could do it all again.

Dunwoody had the grin of the truly impressed when returning to the winner's enclosure, and afterwards commented: "We have a lot to look forward to. The plan was to give him daylight at his fences and when I asked him to jump, he really lengthened. I loved the way he sprinted from the last."

Ladbroke's representative Mike Dillon was possibly even more impressed and justified his 25 to 1 Gold Cup quote by saying: "Every so often, you see a horse that takes the eye and he's one. It was as impressive a debut as I've seen in years. He is clearly high class."

Willie Mullins had also been concerned about the recent form of his string, but it proved no obstacle to Florida Pearl, who will be entered for both the Arkle and the Sun Alliance at Cheltenham.

"I thought he might have been a bit slow at his fences, but he jumped the first two like the last two. I couldn't be happier. Leopardstown is a big track first time out, and he sprinted home on the heavy ground. That solves a lot of problems over what we might do with him. Richard even mentioned the Catchcart at Cheltenham, which could be a good choice," Mullins said.

In contrast, it was business as usual for Istabraq, who started at 1 to 6 for the AIB Festival Hurdle and dealt with his four demonstrably inferior opponents with the minimum of fuss. Charlie Swan tracked Punting Pete to the last and then had the luxury of looking over his shoulder five times on the run-in.

"In that ground there was no point asking him too much. No horse wants it that heavy, but he handles it and I couldn't have asked him to do more. He had a nice canter around," said Aidan O'Brien.

Not surprisingly, Istabraq's ante-post Champion Hurdle odds remained unchanged and he is a generally best priced at 9 to 2, with Shadow Leader next best on 6 to 1. Istabraq will have his warm-up for that in the AIG Irish Champion Hurdle on January 25th.

The champion amateur Ruby Walsh had a cross-country double, riding Scoss to win the opener at Limerick and then travelling by helicopter to Leopardstown to win the Masterfarm Flat Race on Strong Son. Willie Mullins's horse was involved in a titanic battle with Colm Murphy on the favourite, Rainbow Tour, and just held on by a head.

There was a sting in the tail for both riders, though, as Ruby Walsh picked up a four-day ban for using his whip excessively, while Murphy got three days for careless riding.

The situations were reversed in the Madigans Flat Race, as Murphy made all on Aidan O'Brien's Moondigua to beat Walsh on the favourite, Siberian Gale.

Conor O'Dwyer and Arthur Moore brought their Christmas Leopardstown total to five each when the 14 to 1 shot Paradise Road found more on the run-in than Viking Buoy and took the Tegral Handicap Chase by four lengths. The pulled-up favourite, Shuil Na Mhuire, was subsequently found to be having a mild colic.

Norman Williamson and Tom Taaffe combined to take the opener with Verrazano Bridge but were foiled of a double when Alotawanna couldn't cope with the late challenge of Sigma Comms and Jason Titley.

Maurice Camacho yesterday warned that leading fancy Alabang is "less than 50-50" to run in the Ladbroke at Leopardstown a week on Saturday.

His charge is quoted at 14 to 1 for the £75,000 event by William Hill, having finished a close third under Richard Johnson in the William Hill Hurdle at Sandown last time out.

But the trainer said yesterday: "I would say he is a dubious runner - he is less than 50-50 to run. The track would suit him but he is not a wonderful traveller and that is what sticks in the craw.

"I am also with without a jockey as Jamie Osborne is out and with Adrian Maguire injured I am unlikely to be able to get Richard Johnson to cross the Irish Sea."

Camacho is more likely to aim his gelding at a race in Britain, in preparation for a tilt at the Tote Gold Trophy at Newbury.