Racing:Last year's winner Brave Inca heads 16 horses left in the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle at the confirmation stage.
The Irish filled the first four places 12 months ago and the three that finished immediately behind Brave Inca are all set to renew rivalry with Colm Murphy's charge.
They are Macs Joy, the 2004 and 2005 winner Hardy Eustace and Al Eile.
A typically-strong Irish contingent, which comprises 10 in all, is completed by the 2005 runner-up Harchibald, Iktitaf, Jazz Messenger, 2006 Champion Chase hero Newmill, Sublimity and Asian Maze.
The British team is led by 2006 Triumph Hurdle victor Detroit City as the Philip Hobbs-trained grey bids to be the first five-year-old since See You Then in 1985 to take the title.
Straw Bear, Acambo, Afsoun, Kawagino and Marble Garden complete the 16 for the opening day showpiece at the Cheltenham Festival on Tuesday.