RACING: Grimes has been the forgotten horse in the build up to Cheltenham but the Arkle Trophy is the most likely of a number of Festival options for the JP McManus-owned star.
The Galway Plate winner, who is a 16 to 1 shot with Powers for the Arkle, has not raced since November when he was beaten by Moscow Flyer. But he remains a contender for the top novice event if the going at Cheltenham is good.
"He is in good enough form, and he is near enough ready, but the ground must be nothing worse than good if he is to run in the Arkle. Otherwise there is no point. If it is soft, Youlneverwalkalone could run in it instead," trainer Christy Roche said yesterday.
The alternative for Grimes is to come in as a substitute for Istabraq in the Champion Hurdle if anything were to happen to the championship favourite.
Despite a couple of months of scare stories surrounding Istabraq's fluctuating ante-post odds, such a scenario is unlikely, leaving the Arkle as Grimes's most likely option.
If he does take that two-mile option, it will add to Roche's dilemma over Youlneverwalkalone who disappointed his trainer in the Moriarty at Leopardstown 10 days ago.
"He is also in the SunAlliance but we haven't decided what we will do about Cheltenham with him. He is still in at the weekend at Naas (Nas Na Riogh Chase) and could run there before we decide," Roche added.
There will be a 7.15 precautionary inspection this morning at Limerick where the two and a half mile novice hurdle looks the best quality event of the day.
The form of Ronans Cottage's third to Final Act at Leopardstown in a bumper got a boost from Canon Barney at the weekend and along with Bassett Tiger he looks the main danger to Soltero.
An interesting newcomer in the opening four-year-old hurdle is Lafayette. This one ended up running off a mark of 83 on the Flat in Britain last year after picking up races at Sandown, Beverley and Pontefract. The latter was on soft ground and the opposition for his first start over hurdles doesn't look particularly strong.
Edward O'Grady supplied Some Judge to run The Nephron to a short head at Punchestown last month and this time introduces Ride The Storm against the Wachman runner. O'Grady has a strong bumper team, headed by the Cheltenham-bound Kickham.
Top-class chaser Nick Dundee died on Saturday after shattering a fetlock while in retirement at Coolmore Stud. He was aged 10. The horse was retired by trainer Edward O'Grady after winning at Cork last December when he was found to be unsound after the race.
Injury problems dogged the career of the talented gelding who won a total of six races for O'Grady. He will be best remembered for showing the courage to defeat the effects of a life-threatening fall in the 1999 Royal & SunAlliance Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
Sent off a hot favourite, Nick Dundee was about to cruise into the lead when a rare lapse in his jumping led to a bone-crunching fall and left Looks Like Trouble clear to win by a distance.
