It's usual at this time of year to look at pre-Christmas fixtures as chances to get those festive expenses but from the look of the cards this weekend, punters might find the local credit union a safer option.

A whopping 271 horses are scheduled to line up for the 14 races with 172 alone gearing up for Navan today. Even with the ground officially heavy, it's not just the horses who will need stamina.

In the circumstances then, concentrating on the proven rather than potential looks the best option and although she runs in the bumper, Michael Cunningham's Parting Company looks to fulfil the criteria.

In the frame on her last three starts, curiously all at Punchestown, Parting Company has always run her races honestly but appears to be a trifle one-paced at the end of them. In this ground though nothing is likely to be doing a "Sir Ivor" in the closing stages today.

Others with bits of form to consider are Bodies Pride and Vicci Van Dame while one of the newcomers could also figure but the safest option looks to be Parting Company and there are few enough races this afternoon where that can be said.

One other could be Valley Erne, also trained by Cunningham, in the Beginners Chase but this horse made more than one error at Punchestown last time when starting favourite and eventually had to settle for third behind Slaney Native and Royal Marine.

Even that bare form puts Valley Erne in here with a major chance and if he put in a decent round of jumping he would be a major fancy.

Another hard to oppose but unlikely to be a value betting proposition is the ex-German Alpha Blues who will find Navan in mid-December a bit different from chasing Kayf Tara around Deauville in mid-summer.

Still, Alpha Blues made a stirring jumping debut behind Golden Rule over the course and distance of the maiden hurdle back in October and jumped noticeably well at Punchestown recently only to fail by a neck to Hobart Frisbey. A similar display should see him take care of Noel Meade's Thurles bumper winner Woodenbridge Natif.

Meade runs the Downpatrick bumper winner The Beeches in the opener but preference is for Jason Titley's mount Just Two, winner of a Naas bumper by half a length from Atomic, who possesses experience and appears to be going the right way while Barry Geraghty's claiming brother can secure a family success on Gold Blaze in the first of the handicap hurdles.