TADRIAN Maguire’s Mr Warbucks made a fine start over fences when easily beating Whatuthink in the Thurles Beginners Chase yesterday.

SANTO PADRE can land a spectacular four-timer in the listed Mercury Stakes at Dundalk tonight.

SATURDAY will reveal a lot about St Nicholas Abbey.

THURLES houses its first meeting of the National Hunt season this afternoon, starting with a particularly competitive programme.

EIGHT races, six of them handicaps, make Navan this afternoon an absolute minefield as far as punters are concerned.

PAUL TOWNEND landed a double at Cork yesterday, producing a particularly fine effort to take the featured Kinsale Handicap Chase aboard Keys Pride.

CHIEF Lone Eagle can pull rank on his opponents in the Listed Navigation Stakes at Cork this afternoon.

GER Lyons can continue his terrific record at Dundalk by saddling once-raced Shirley Blake to land the Irish Stallion Farms’ EBF Fillies Maiden at the track tonight.

PUNCHESTOWN today houses a cracking card with the reappearance of Sizing Europe, in the Buck House Novice Chase, promising to be the highlight.

WALKING out of the press room at Limerick on Sunday, shortly before the first race, you immediately felt the National Hunt season was back in full flow.