Fairyhouse Easter Festival begins

easily the best racing in Britain and Ireland today comes from Fairyhouse, where the Easter Festival begins, with the Irish Grand National tomorrow as the main feature. Today´s big race is the Grade One Powers Gold Cup for novice chasers at 17.30 CET. Flemenstar (Peter Casey/ Andrew Lynch) has won his last four races and looks as if he can go right to the top; he is a confident selection here. Call the Police (Willie Mullins/ Ruby Walsh), third in the RSA at Cheltenham, and Rathlin (Mouse Morris/ Davy Russell), winner of his last 3, can follow him home. The Grade Two novice hurdle for mares at 15.25 and the Grade Two novice hurdle half an hour later, both over 2 1/2 miles, are the main supporting events and both look wide open. Ceol Rua (Mullins/ Walsh) and Lord Windermere (Jim Culloty/ Tom Doyle) are our very tentative suggestions.
There is also Irish N.H. racing at Cork, with some large fields. Unfortunately there is a very poor turnout for the main event, the Imperial Call Chase at 17.10. This could go to the handicapper Give Us a Hand (JA Berry/ AF O´Neill).
The two British jump meetings are very low level. Alan King could win 3 races at Towcester, with Vendor (Wayne Hutchinson) at 15.10, Rivermouth (Charlie Huxley) half an hour later, and either Willoughby (Gerard Tumelty) or Hollow Penny (Hutchinson) in the concluding bumper. At Plumpton, we hope that ex-German Double Handful (David Bass) can continue the progress he has made since joining Lawnay Hill in the handicap hurdle at 17.35´, while ex-French Donatorio (John Ferguson/ Paul Moloney) can take the maiden hurdle at 15.30.
The only flat racing comes from Musselburgh, where the grandly-named Gold Cup, a handicap over 1 3/4 miles at 16.50, is the main event. The lightly-raced Monsun gelding Shubaat (Roger Varian/ Neil Callan) is the likely favourite here, but we have slight preference for Lexington Bay (Richard Fahey/ Paul Hanagan).

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Simon Gray - Hawk Flight - He`S Our Man
2. Race: Ceol Rua - Dressedtothenines - Madam Bovary
3. Race: Lyreen Legend - Jenari - Texas Jack
4. Race: Vesper Bell - Jetson - Please Talk
5. Race: Competitive Edge - Beir Bua - Devil`S Elbow
6. Race: Flemenstar - Rathlin - Call The Police
7. Race: El Fontan - Se Beag - Kildare Blowin