RACING:TEMPERATURES ARE to dip below freezing overnight ahead of today's Red Mills Thyestes Chase card, but the Gowran Park authorities are confident their €90,000 feature will go ahead at the third time of asking.

Frost claimed the fixture twice last week and there are forecasts for the thermometer to dip to as low as minus four overnight in parts of the country.

However, the Gowran management were in confident mood yesterday they will be able to run off their biggest meeting of the year and no inspection is planned.

“There is nothing there to suggest we need one,” manager Margaret Fogarty said yesterday. “There is no frost in the ground, we have had covers down and we have done everything that can be done. We are told it will get down to minus two here overnight, but we are confident.”

Conditions will be testing this afternoon for a card that includes the Grade Two Galmoy Hurdle.

But that will hold no terrors for the dour-staying Telenor, who will have his first start since Easter in the Thyestes.

Victory for the Jim Dreaper-trained Grade Two winner would be an evocative one considering the Dreaper family’s long association with the Thyestes, including a momentous hat-trick between 1964-66 with Arkle, Fort Leney and Flyingbolt.

Jim Dreaper himself has twice saddled the winner and he is keen to get Telenor back in action since tipping up in the Irish Grand National. “He’s had a couple of little niggly problems which is why he hasn’t been out yet. He will possibly need the run a bit, but we need to get started with him,” he said.

That may be the case, but Telenor doesn’t look badly treated for a horse who dead-heated with Uimhiraceathair in last season’s Ten Up Chase and he relishes soft ground.

Telenor is also open to improvement, which may not be the case with most of those at the forefront of the market.

Willie Mullins’ Pomme Tiepy heads a trio of runners from the champion trainer, and she did best of these in last month’s Paddy Power Chase when third to Majestic Concorde. The mare ran on through beaten horses, just ahead of Agus A Vic, but it may be dangerous to take that form too literally.

Last year’s winner, Whinstone Boy, is back for more, and two horses, Across The Bay and Good Fella, are new to the field from when first declarations were made last week. Among those to lose out is the well backed Rocco’s Hall, who is now second reserve.

Mourad is rated a 12 to 1 joint second favourite for the World Hurdle behind Big Buck’s, and it will be a major surprise if the Mullins-trained horse doesn’t make it two from two over three miles in the Galmoy.

He was impressive beating Powerstation at Leopardstown last month and looks to have too much for his five opponents.

Gordon Elliott runs five in the opening juvenile hurdle, including his new recruit Plan A. Placed twice for Mick Quinlan in England, including when third in a Cheltenham Grade Two in November, Plan A should be hard to beat here if settling better.

Byrnes rules out Champion Hurdle

CHARLES BYRNES has definitely ruled out another tilt at the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham for his six-time Grade One winner Solwhit, writes Brian O'Connor.

The ex-French star has finished runner-up to Hurricane Fly in his last three starts, including Sunday's BHP Irish Champion at Leopardstown, and Byrnes believes there is no point in taking on the Willie Mullins-trained star again at the festival.

Instead, Solwhit is more likely to try to repeat his 2009 triumph in the Aintree Hurdle at Liverpool in April over two-and-a-half miles.

"He came out of the race well and he's going to have a break now for a couple of weeks," Byrnes said. "He ran another good race and we were very happy with him again.

"The Champion Hurdle is definitely out for him now. It's more than likely we'll wait for Aintree, but he has the World Hurdle as option if we want it."