Naas preview:J'y Vole will attempt to maintain her unbeaten record over fences at Naas tomorrow but the Willie Mullins-trained mare faces another intriguing clash with Thyne Again that is far from certain to go her way.
Both star novices line up in the Grade Two Woodlands Park Nas Na Riogh Chase just two weeks after a remarkable PJ Moriarty Chase at Leopardstown that raised some question marks about both of them.
It seems remarkable that a Grade One victory should create uncertainty but there's little doubt it appeared that J'y Vole won almost in spite of herself. She hung throughout, jumped badly right on occasions, made a horrible mistake at the third last and generally gave Ruby Walsh a ride that Mullins succinctly described as "horrible".
The fact she still managed to win is testament to a real talent but she is set to race left-handed again tomorrow and there's no knowing if those quirks will appear again, especially after a hard race. "She seems to have come out of it fine," Mullins reassured yesterday. "She did have a hard race but seems to have bounced back okay."
Also in J'y Vole's favour is that she again gets a huge weight allowance. But it is surely significant that Liam Burke is allowing Thyne Again another crack at her. If Mullins was left flabbergasted by J'y Vole at Leopardstown, then Burke could be found in a similar state for different reasons.
Thyne Again was dropped out by Davy Russell on that occasion and the horse then made mistakes at the fifth last and three out when trying to make ground. Ultimately he failed to land a real blow and a frustrated Burke summed it up this week by declaring: "It wasn't one of his better rides."
The Moriarty hasn't dented the Cork trainer's faith in Thyne Again and a more aggressive ride near the pace this time by Russell could present J'y Vole with a very different challenge.
Victory for Woodbine Willie in the Paddy Power Johnstown Hurdle will earn Philip Fenton's novice a Ballymore run at Cheltenham and the in-form Barry Geraghty can propel the horse to that win tomorrow.
Woodbine Willie wasn't beaten too far on the course last month behind Venalmar and Trafford Lad despite appearing to hang, a problem that Fenton is confident has been addressed since. If it has, then the seven-year-old will be a hard nut to crack for the likes of Peplum.
The third Grade Two on the card is the Newlands Chase which would look a good opportunity for the former double Grade One-winning novice Schindlers Hunt at his best. The good news for his followers is that he may not be far away from that.
"We will see if he is back to what he was last year. We think he's back now," said Dessie Hughes yesterday. The horse is in the Champion Chase, the Ryanair and the Grand Annual at Cheltenham and Hughes added: "You have to keep your options open but we might run him in the Grand Annual."
Very few will be leaving before the last as it has an enviable record of throwing up major talent. Both Hairy Molly (2006) and Pizarro (2002) won it before landing the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham. Tom Mullins has decided not to run his top Cheltenham fancy Time Electric but he does look to have a suitable replacement in Oscar Dan Dan who was running on behind Shady Willow in the closing stages of his last start.