A stone bruise appears to have called a halt to Limestone Lad's gallop this season and he is now described as an "unlikely" starter in Thursday's Ballymore Properties Stayers' Hurdle at Fairyhouse.

The James Bowe-owned and trained star has bruised a back foot and Bowe's son Michael said yesterday: "We are all devastated here and it will be a miracle if he is ready in time to run at Fairyhouse."

He added: "The bruise was poulticed and it has now broke out. It has improved considerably but he is unlikely to run. We're still trying to make our minds up but personally I don't want to run him. The last couple of months have been hard enough anyway because he is not the kind of horse you can get ready just for one race.

"If he can't go to Fairyhouse I can't see anything else for him to run in this season unless we go back chasing but he is always a horse who is best in the autumn and we might just rough him out for the summer."

Leading novice chaser Knife Edge, trained by Michael O'Brien, faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up a slight fracture. O'Brien's Galway Plate winner Dovaly also faces a period on the easy list. He's recovering from an operation on a twisted gut.

In the festival context today's fare at Tramore is strictly bread and butter but a number of worthwhile punting opportunities are possible and Sakina could be the best of them in the fillies maiden. A couple of placed efforts at Gowran last year give her the clear winning of a bad race.

Christy Senior, a winner at Leopardstown six days ago, needs one of the declared runners to drop out in the nine-furlong handicap but if that happens he should be up to defying the 5lb penalty he picked up for beating Copernicus and Vitus under a strong Gordon Power ride.

Ken Whelan has a good chance of landing the novice chase on the track winner Why Bother and could have been on the mark already in the first with Muscovite Marble who proved his ability on the course by winning on the flat last August.