Ruby Walsh has retained the ride on Stage Affair for Sunday's AIG Europe Champion Hurdle.

Dermot Weld confirmed the booking yesterday and reports Stage Affair "in good form" for a race the Curragh trainer has won twice before with Fortune And Fame (1994-95).

The British champion jockey Tony McCoy was Stage Affair's rider last season, including when runner-up to Istabraq in the AIG, but Walsh was in the plate for Stage Affair's sole race this season on New Year's Eve.

"Ruby will ride the horse and although Istabraq will be very hard to beat, it's a £100,000 race with a lot of prestige and if you're not in, you can't win," Weld said.

Plans for Istabraq to have a school haven't been carried out yet and Aidan O'Brien said yesterday: "The weather will tell us when we can school him. Like everywhere else we've had freezing weather too."

Frost, however, has become less of an issue at Leopardstown and their racing manager Tom Burke reported yesterday: "The outlook is much better. There's no frost in the ground and we could have raced today. The forecasters are also going back to what they originally said with milder weather and rain forecast for Saturday."

The Leopardstown focus this weekend will be on the AIG but yesterday also saw entries published for the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup on February 4th which sees three former race winners among the 15-strong entry.

Florida Pearl, winner for the last two years, is one of three Willie Mullins-trained entries along with Alexander Banquet and Micko's Dream. Dorans Pride, the winner in 1998, is joined by the 1996 scorer Imperial Call and there are two cross-channel entries including the former Cheltenham Gold Cup hero See More Business.

This afternoon's action is at Tramore where Ruby Walsh's presence on Reggae Rhythm in the Beginners Chase looks a significant tip in itself.

It can be safely assumed from the booking that Reggae Rhythm's jumping is at least adequate and that being the case the Henry de Bromhead-trained runner, a course winner over hurdles this month, is worth keeping on the right side of.

Racing opens with another clash between the JP McManusowned Janidou and the Fairyhouse bumper winner Natalie Know's. Janidou has six lengths in hand on Leopardstown running behind Timber County but the Tramore track could be better suited to Natalie Know's who was rated a 70 on the flat.

Caroline Hutchinson is a top booking for the lightly weighted Union Bridge in the lady riders' handicap hurdle while Belle Away's 20-length second to Collier County looks even better now that the latter has reportedly been a big-money purchase by the top owner John Magnier.

Beechcourt, the 4 to 1 favourite in some books for the Cheltenham bumper, has been sold to race in the colours of Ged Pierse, sponsor of last weekend's Pierse Hurdle. The Michael O'Brien-trained horse was an impressive 12-length winner of his only start at Leopardstown on Sunday.

Another O'Brien-trained Cheltenham prospect, Knife Edge, will miss this Sunday's Baileys Arkle Trophy at Leopardstown after training was affected by the cold snap.

Officials at Uttoxeter will inspect this afternoon to see if tomorrow's meeting can go ahead.