As usual, the most spine-tingling moment of the week will come in the moment before the start of the opening contest, The Supreme Novice Hurdle.

NOTHING for it this week then, with Storm Ciara messing us about big-time, but to look ahead to the Cheltenham Festival in an effort to pinpoint some value.

Delta Work, Kemboy and Presenting Percy remain on course to renew rivalry at Leopardstown on Sunday, after all three stood their ground for the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup.

Ruby Walsh and Pat Smullen were the stars at last night’s Horse Racing Ireland Awards, each receiving the Racing Hero Award.

Barry Geraghty has delayed his comeback from a broken leg until next month.

Champion Hurdle winner Espoir D’Allen is unlikely to run in the 2019-20 National Hunt season after an accident at home.

A trip to Galway is planned for Construct following his all-the-way hurdle debut success in the Tony Patterson Sports ground Maiden Hurdle in Downpatrick yesterday.

A tough and consistent mare, Surrounding made her breakthrough at Group 3 level when landing the Brownstown Stakes for Michael Halford, Ronan Whelan, and the Newell family at Fairyhouse yesterday.

The National Hunt season that has just finished was a very strange one. At times it felt like the season would never get going as we waited and waited for the skies to open. For us in racing, they never really did, but hopefully for the flat season ahead they won’t open now.

Any doubts surrounding Tiger Roll’s participation in the Aintree Grand National were allayed by his trainer Gordon Elliott yesterday, who also revealed that the gutsy nine-year-old may well be one of a number of his charges who could follow up in the Boylesports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse.

Funny sort of week. Great week for Willie and a brilliant week for Paul Townend, but it was a funny week for me.

For the third consecutive year, the fifth time in the last 10 runnings, and a record ninth time in total, the familiar green and gold colours of JP McManus were carried to victory in the Unibet Champion Hurdle.

Beware The Bear claimed top honours in the Ultima Handicap Chase at Cheltenham.

Nicky Henderson reports Buveur D’Air to be in tip-top condition as he bids to become the sixth horse to record three successive victories in today’s Unibet Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Willie Mullins has three potential runners as he bids to continue his dominance of the Sky Bet Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.

Aidan O’Brien is hoping Magic Wand can shed her maiden tag in the Arkle Finance Cheshire Oaks at Chester today.

Davy Russell, crowned champion-jockey for the third time at Punchestown on Saturday, got off the mark for the new season when partnering Crezic, trained for Gigginstown House Stud by Gordon Elliott, to victory in the Follow Kilbeggan On Twitter Maiden Hurdle at last night’s rescheduled meeting in Kilbeggan.

Ashley Iveson gives his opinion on all 40 runners for the Randox Health Grand National at Aintree.

"We're counting down the days now, but it's going to be a great experience and I'm looking forward to riding in the race again and especially for Ross."

Death Duty completed a Grade One treble on the day for Gordon Elliott and Gigginstown House Stud with victory in the Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase at Fairyhouse.

Trainer Gavin Cromwell has vowed to support Ger Fox after the Irish Grand National-winning jockey was named as one of three riders to receive a two-year ban after testing positive for a metabolite of cocaine.

The West’s Awake was a poignant winner of the two-and-a-half-mile novice chase at Punchestown yesterday.

Yesterday was a day of near misses, but the horses ran well. I couldn’t have asked more of Melon, who just ran into a better one in the Supreme. 

In 2012 Raz De Maree won the Paddy Power Cork National for the late Dessie Hughes, and four years on - now an 11-year-old and trained by Gavin Cromwell - he showed the light still burns brightly as earned a second victory in the feature race at a packed Mallow racecourse.

Just one meeting in Ireland today, and Clongowes, who contests the Coolmore Most Improved Maiden in Mallow, gets the nap.

It’s day six at Ballybrit and Capri gets the nap to take the one-mile maiden for trainer Aidan O’Brien and jockey Seamie Heffernan.

The recent tradition of the Galway Plate catapulting relatively unheralded young jockeys to public prominence continued yesterday as 20-year-old Donagh Meyler steered the Gigginstown House Stud-owned Lord Scoundrel to victory in the Ballybrit showpiece.

A dash from the school yard to the stable yard proved a profitable one for jockey Evan Dwan, as the 19-year-old Leaving Certificate student secured his maiden victory inside the rails by taking the closing race at Limerick aboard the Pat Doyle-trained Mossback.

After three abandoned meetings, the horse racing action returns at Limerick this afternoon, and punters can get their reward early by siding with Plain Talking in the opener and Pakman in the second race.

Roger Loughran rode his first winner for Gordon Elliott when Buyer Beware, having his first run for the trainer and returning from a winter break, captured the opening Count Me In Maiden Hurdle in good style from Sold Heat at Downpatrick yesterday.

Dual Irish champion Flat jockey Joseph O’Brien has decided not to ride at all this year and to concentrate on his new role as a trainer.

Joseph O’Brien is keen to see how Ivanovich Gorbatov performs at Leopardstown today before committing to the JCB Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham.