Ireland today

The ground will be very testing at both today´s Irish N.H. meetings at Punchestown and Limerick, but some good sport is still in prospect. Punchestown has the best card, but unfortunately there are only 5 runners in the two featured Grade Two events, the novice hurdle at 14.25 CET and the 2 mile chase an hour later. Both however could have a strong bearing on Cheltenham betting. In the former event, Mikael d´Haquenet (Ruby Walsh) is one of an army of Cheltenham hopefuls from the Willie Mullins stable, and will start at long odds-on today after easily winning his last 3 races. Donna Palm (Noel Meade/ Paul Carberry) and Kimberlite King (Colm Murphy/ Matt O´Connor) are the obvious candidates for the forecast. However the main candidate for Murphy and O´Connor is Big Zeb in the big chase. He is currently second favourite to Master Minded for the Champion Chase and has to win today to keep up a credible festival challenge. He should hold Watson Lake (Meade/ Carberry), who meets hi m of 2lbs better terms for a half length defeat at Leopardstown´s Christmas meeting, as he was reportedly not fully fit then. Last-time-out winners Scotsirish (Mullins/ Walsh), who missed an easier race in midweek to wait for this, and Mansony (Arthur Mpoore/ Day Russell) are also respected. Black Apalachi (Dessie Hughes/ Roger Loughran), a spectacular winner over fences at Aintree´s autumn meeting, now reppears with top-weight in the 3 mile handicap hurdle at 14.55 and seems a more likely Grand National candidate than any of the runners in the Grand National Trial at 15.55. Enda Bolger has dominated the cross-country scene in recent years; he has 3 runners in the race at 16.35 with L´Ami (John Thomas McNamara) looking by far the best of them. At Limerick, German-breds Noble Prince (Paul Nolan/ Aiudan Cawley) and Madagascar Island (Ger Cully/ Andrew Thornton) have each-way chances at 14.45. and 16.15 respectively, while Horner Woods (Jessica Harrington/ Robbie Power) should win the beginners chase at 17.15, and Publicize (J.Monroe/ RT Dunne) can repeat his easy Thursday CD win in the opportunity handicap chase at 17.45