Today's Guinness Kerry National boasts a mammoth €150,000 prize fund, but despite an 18-strong field the festival feature will for many revolve around the topweight, Euro Leader
This has been the big target for the Willie Mullins-trained seven-year-old ever since an impressive success at Tralee last month when, despite carving the third-last open, he won easily.
The result has been a 13lb penalty, so Euro Leader will have to defy 12st to win. Dorans Pride was the last to do that, in 1997, but that didn't stop the bookmakers yesterday making Euro Leader a general 9 to 2 favourite.
But the real question mark will be how Euro Leader copes with the three-mile trip. Only once has he tried the distance, and that run at Punchestown last spring was not too encouraging for today.
Ruby Walsh won last year with Banasan and will be in stalking mode on Euro Leader. But he faces a major job with both the weight and the distance.
The most successful Kerry National jockey in recent years has been Timmy Murphy, who won on Native Performance two seasons ago and Macs Supreme in 2000.
Murphy travels from Britain to partner the bottom weight Monterey Bay, who will have no problem with the trip and whose wellbeing was advertised by a win over two-and-a-half miles at Killarney.
Slightly softer ground might suit Monterey Bay better, but he is at the right end of the handicap and comes here in form. Paddy Power's 8 to 1 looks an attractive each way offer.
Kieren Fallon makes a rare visit to Listowel this afternoon for the ride on Aidan O'Brien's De Laurentiis in the opener.
There are a number of highly rated horses in this, including the 107 Dream To Dress, whose two runs since the Epsom Oaks have hardly set the world alight.
The course winner Mister Hight is on 103 and could be a better option than her, but De Laurentiis, well backed but desperately green on his Roscommon debut, is the unknown factor. Fallon's strength could prove crucial.
The former six-time British champion is also a significant booking for Woodland Dream in the seven-furlong handicap, while Mount Grace should come on for a comeback run at Clonmel and go close in the four-year-old hurdle.
