THE only conclusion to be drawn, following War Of Attrition's performance in yesterday's Guinness Gold Cup at Punchestown, is that it will take a very special horse to lower his colours if he arrives fit and healthy at next year's Cheltenham Gold Cup.

CELESTIAL WAVE, unbeaten in two starts over flights, can continue on an upward curve in the Dawn Omega Milk EBF Mares Novice Hurdle at Limerick tomorrow.

BRAVE INCA is the choice to outbattle Harchibald in the featured bewleyshotels.com December Festival Hurdle at Leopardstown this afternoon.

IT’S hard to keep a good man down. On Saturday Michael Hourigan kept hitting the bar, but roared back to the top of the tree at Cork yesterday when the progressive A New Story stormed away with the Paddy Power Grand National.

THE three-day May meeting got underway in glorious sunshine at Killarney yesterday, and young Athlone claimer Mark Watts enjoyed by far his biggest win when partnering Calorando to take the featured Murphys Irish Stout Handicap Hurdle.

SEAMUS HEFFERNAN, set to ride as number two to Kieren Fallon at Ballydoyle this season, partnered his first winner of the jumps campaign when steering Brogella to an easy success in the Mares Novice Hurdle at Clonmel yesterday.

BROGELLA looks the bet of the weekend in Ireland in the opening Mares Novice Hurdle at Clonmel tomorrow.

IT isn’t often a horse does the business, landing a little touch in the process, and his trainer subsequently expresses disappointment at the performance.

THE frustrating The Galway Man can finally put it all together and land the John Harney Bookmaker Chase at Clonmel this afternoon.

TOM MULLINS, the latest of the Mullins dynasty to join the training ranks, saddled his first Tramore winner last night when Bob What took the Tom Murphy Car Sales Mercedes Benz Handicap Chase.