With the Cheltenham Festival now just a fortnight away, Willie Mullins talks through some of his formidable team for the showpiece meeting.

The programme for the Cheltenham Festival is such, the first two days are those which will seal the fate of almost every punter, dictating whether or not it will be a profitable week.

Theophilus can take the closing race on a tricky card this afternoon at Punchestown.

Following Saturday’s victory with Coney Island, trainer Eddie Harty made it three wins from as many runners at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting when Minella Foru took the valuable Paddy Power Chase and Copy That landed a touch in the two-mile handicap hurdle on day two of the four-day festival, writes Tommy Lyons.

As the National Hunt season engages top gear, the markets for the Cheltenham Festival begin to take shape.

Champion Hurdle runner-up Arctic Fire is the headline name that remains in Sunday’s Bar One Racing Hatton’s Grace Hurdle.

The Henry de Bromhead-trained Sadler’s Risk belied his relative inexperience over fences when taking an eventful renewal of the Ladbrokes Munster National yesterday afternoon at Limerick racecourse.

Yesterday provided a well-deserved moment of joy in a year of heartache for trainer Mouse Morris as Rogue Angel fought back tenaciously to edge out Urano in a thrilling finish in the Kerry Grand National.

Now Or Never had young trainer Michael O’Callaghan dreaming big after she ran out a most impressive winner of the Topaz Fillies’ Maiden, last night at Galway.

Having made such a good impression on his return, in a maiden hurdle at Sligo recently, Long Dog should take a world of beating in the opening Topaz Novice Hurdle on day two of the Galway Festival.

Odds-on favourites Bachasson, Long Dog and Fugi Mountain continued the rich vein of form being enjoyed by champion trainer Willie Mullins when recording a treble in Sligo yesterday.

Diakali should register his first win since November 2013 in the Grade 3 Kevin McManus Bookmaker Grimes Hurdle at Tipperary today.

I flew from Shannon to Heathtrow on Thursday night, after riding two winners at Thurles, and was looking forward to a couple of days at Newbury.

Promising newcomer Long Dog and Stephen Hero provided trainer Andy Oliver with a 90/1 double in Sligo last night.