WITH conditions in his favour, Joncol will be expected to become the first horse since Native Upmanship to win a second John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown tomorrow.

RIDING Hinterland in the opening juvenile hurdle at Cheltenham is a good way to start the day and I’ll be disappointed if he doesn’t win.

LAST year’s winner Tranquil Sea has been given the green light by Edward O’Grady to bid for a John Durkan Memorial Chase double at Punchestown on Sunday after his comeback win in the Clonmel Oil Chase.

THE potentially top-class Joncol, a horse who has been plagued by problems, made a fine start to the season when taking the John Meagher Memorial Chase at Thurles yesterday.

MOUNT BENBULBEN can recoup recent losses in the Cashel Maiden Hurdle at Thurles this afternoon.

TWENTY-FOUR horses, and all the big names, remain in the reckoning at the latest forfeit stage for next month’s totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Kempes is the new name in the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup picture after running out a decisive winner of the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown.

Kempes ran out a clear-cut winner of the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown for Willie Mullins and David Casey.

LAST weekend we went through the big Hennessy meeting at Leopardstown in some detail, but the weather ruined the party and, of course, it has been rescheduled to this afternoon.

It’s funny how things have worked out with the delay of a week’s racing due to the heavy rain.

PAUL Nicholls is not concerned about the prospect of testing ground for Hennessy Gold Cup favourite Pride Of Dulcote.

ANYONE who knows me will be well aware that sitting on the fence is not in my nature, but it is precisely what I intend to do as far as tomorrow’s Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown is concerned.

Paul Nicholls is not concerned about the prospect of testing ground for Hennessy Gold Cup favourite Pride Of Dulcote.

Willie Mullins saddled the first five-timer (at cumulative odds of 952/1) of his illustrious training career at Punchestown yesterday.

THE Noel Meade trained Pandorama faces a race against time to make the Cheltenham Gold Cup on March 18.

LEOPARDSTOWN yesterday announced the entries for the 4 Grade 1 races on Sunday, February 6, the featured Hennessy Gold Cup, Dr PJ Moriarty Chase, Deloitte Novice Hurdle and the Spring Juvenile Hurdle.

Pandorama rose to the top of the Irish staying division with a decisive victory in the Grade One Lexus Chase at Leopardstown.

NOEL MEADE’S Pandorama will be hoping for a change of fortune in today’s Lexus Chase at Leopardstown.

THERE has been no racing in Ireland for 10 days, not since Navan on December 18, so the whole industry will be praying that both Leopardstown and Limerick today get the green light, following 7.30am inspections.

Cooldine has been installed as favourite for tomorrow’s Lexus Chase at Leopardstown – if the meeting beats the weather.

ASCOT today was duly abandoned yesterday afternoon, so let’s start this week with a glance back at Fairyhouse on Wednesday.

SOLWHIT is the nap choice to land the Bar One Hatton’s Grace Hurdle, on a terrific programme at Fairyhouse this afternoon.

EOIN Griffin has offered his gratitude to Fairyhouse for the rescheduling of the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase – but warns his stable star Glencove Marina has not enjoyed an ideal preparation.

Edward O’Grady is among a legion of Irish trainers gladdened by a break in the weather as his Tranquil Sea returns to the track seeking his first Grade One win in the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase at Fairyhouse.

DESSIE HUGHES stole the show at Thurles yesterday, completing a 70/1 treble with Rick, Western Charmer and Quiet Thought.

CAPTAIN CEE BEE, is set to return to Punchestown for his next start in the John Durkan Memorial Chase.

Gold Cup-winning trio Kauto Star, Denman and Imperial Commander feature among a fascinating list of 19 entries for the Betfair Chase at Haydock on November 20.

WILLIE MULLINS has yet to make any hard and fast plans for his stable stars’ return to the race course but reports most of them to be in fine fettle as the National Hunt season kicks into gear.

WHERE to start? Yesterday’s Guinness Gold Cup at Punchestown certainly threw up more than it’s share of talking points.

Planet Of Sound sprung a 14-1 surprise when winning an eventful renewal of the Punchestown Guinness Gold Cup.

3.40 Sivota; 4.55 Arabella Boy; 5.30 (Guinness Gold Cup) Cooldine; 6.05 Hidden Universe; 6.40 Stewarts House; 7.15 Kitty Storm.

I have little hesitation siding with Denman in the Guinness Gold Cup at Punchestown today.

ONE of Ireland’s most popular chasers of recent times has his last race ever today as War Of Attrition ends a productive career in the Guinness Gold Cup at Punchestown.

TAKE a chance on Cooldine turning-over Denman in the Guinness Gold Cup at Punchestown this evening.

JONCOL will aim to add to his Grade One haul in the Guinness Gold Cup at the Punchestown festival.

Ruby Walsh felt the hype surrounding Kauto Star and Denman was “an insult” to their fellow totesport Gold Cup competitors.

IN THIS game, we move forward so quickly, we hardly take time to properly examine what’s gone before.

THE totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup yesterday signalled a massive changing of the guard.

Imperial Commander gate-crashed the showdown between Kauto Star and Denman to run out a fantastic winner of the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.

A PUNTER from Kent is on the verge of a £1 million bookie bashing win in today’s Gold Cup after placing a series of 10p bets with William Hill, and he doesn’t even have to back the winner.

IT HAS been described as a head-to-head to give Ali-Frazier a run for their money but Willie Mullins will be hoping Cooldine can give lie to the conventional wisdom that the Gold Cup is a classic head-to-head.

THE way results have unfolded at Cheltenham this week, it won’t be any great surprise should Kauto Star bite the dust in today’s totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.