Aintree Preview: A total of 17 Irish-trained horses, including Beef Or Salmon in the Betfair Bowl, are set to start in today's opening session of the Aintree Festival as the visitors go in pursuit of more record-breaking plunder across-channel.
After Ireland's Cheltenham tally of 10 winners last month trumped 2005's total, the pressure will be on this week to also beat last year's record Liverpool haul of eight winners.
Hedgehunter will lead a strong Irish team in Saturday's National and it could be that it's the first race of the week over the famous big fences that gives the visitors the best chance of an early strike.
A bumper field of 30 runners in the Foxhunters will include nine Irish horses and it could be that Bothar Na will provide the Hedgehunter team with a major morale boost just 48 hours before the National itself.
After such a build up, the Cheltenham Festival was a major let down for Willie Mullins who later found a blood disorder in the majority of his team.
The exceptions to that all appeared to run on the last day and although Hedgehunter's Gold Cup exploits naturally grabbed more attention, there was plenty to like about the way Bothar Na kept going for fourth behind Whyso Mayo in the hunters chase.
Bang there on the turn-in, the seven-year-old faded in the closing stages as the lack of a warm-up run took its toll. Provided that hasn't taken the edge off him, rich compensation could await here.
But despite the magic of Bechers Brook, the Chair and all the other famous National landmarks, most Irish interest today will centre on Beef Or Salmon's attempt to bounce back from the crushing fourth Gold Cup failure at Cheltenham Beef Or Salmon may have landed eight Grade 1's in his illustrious career but five races overseas have yielded no success to date and that might not change this afternoon either.
Paul Carberry's mount will have to concede 4lb to the likes of Monkerhostin and L'Ami who races for the first time in JP McManus's colours. He also has to give a whopping 10lb to the former Gold Cup runner-up Take The Stand. However, ground, forecast to be almost uniformly good today, could also become a problem.
"He should enjoy himself around Aintree as it suits his style. It's also going to be a smaller field and he has been fine since Cheltenham," said Carberry yesterday before adding an ominous warning note. "It would be nice to see a drop of rain."
In contrast, the harder the ground, the better for Take The Stand who looks well in here on his very best form.
Cogans Lake is the sole Irish hope in the day's only Grade One, the four-year-old hurdle, and Kieran Purcell's horse may well run a better race than people expect. Whether it will be good enough to beat a field that includes five of the first six home in the Triumph Hurdle is a different matter.
Detroit City looked to need all of Cheltenham's stamina demands to emerge best in the Triumph and this track will hardly suit the stamina-laden grey. Pace Shot, fourth at Cheltenham, is progressive but preference is for Afsoun whose fifth at the festival was a decent effort in the circumstances.
A health scare on the run-up to Cheltenham didn't harm his chance half as much as the way he ran so free to post and then in the race itself. If Fitzgerald can settle him better, Afsoun will be a threat to all.
Leading Run is one of the best bumper horses in Ireland and only age stopped him from going to Cheltenham with a big chance. It's significant then that Chomba Womba managed to get within four and a half lengths of him at Gowran in January and the Mags Mullins mare could go close in the concluding bumper.
Blazing Bailey was third in the Triumph but this time takes on older horses in the Grade Two over two and a half miles. The up in trip should be crucial.
