As dire as Moorefield’s situation appeared after normal time in Portlaoise on Sunday, Eanna O’Connor was one man who had more than one reason not to lose faith.

Moorefield (Kildare) 1-14 St Loman’s (Westmeath) 2-10: One man’s comeback is another’s collapse as this dramatic Leinster Club SFC final in Portlaoise so perfectly illustrated.

The optimist in “Sos” Dowling doesn’t need any invitation to draw parallels between the Leinster club title he led Moorefield to in 2006 and what he hopes will be their second crown tomorrow afternoon.

St Loman’s Mullingar 0-13 Simonstown Gaels 1-8: St Loman’s, Mullingar, came from seven points down to defeat Simonstown Gaels of Navan and reach their first ever Leinster Senior Club final at TEG Cusack Park, Mullingar, yesterday.

Rathnew manager Harry Murphy has called on the Leinster Council to give Wicklow the opportunity to pull off their own Aughrim ambush next summer.

Father and son, Jimmy and Paddy Mangan, teamed up to take the most-valuable race, the Graun Hill Suite Beginners’ Chase, on yesterday’s national hunt card on a well-attended inaugural student race-day at Tramore.

John Murphy is laughing. He knows how physically big this Carlow side can be considered but then he knows they could be bigger if Sean O’Brien had taken a different playing career path.

Colm Greaves examines three things we’ll learn on day four at Cheltenham...

Ahead of an important couple of days in Down Royal, when some of the stable’s leading lights will make their first starts of the season, trainer Gordon Elliott completed a near 6-1 double on a cold Thursday afternoon in Thurles.

Jack Kennedy followed up Sunday’s double at Downpatrick by claiming another brace in Ballinrobe last night.

The winning favourites which topped and tailed the card were not enough to prevent punters finishing a distant second behind the layers on day one of the Punchestown festival.

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.

Recently back from a stint in Japan, Shane Foley celebrated his 28th birthday in style when completing a double on Russian Soul and Hat Alnasar for his boss Michael Halford in Dundalk last night.

St Loman’s (Westmeath) 2-10 Rathnew (Wicklow) 1-6: St Loman’s booked a place in the last four of the Leinster Club SFC on the back of a decisive seven-point victory over 13-man Rathnew at rain-soaked Aughrim yesterday.

Jockeys Paul Townend and Luke Dempsey made the headlines, for contrasting reasons, in Ballinrobe last night.

Trainer Michael Halford took the honours when saddling a mixed double, with Shamash and Shadagann in Sligo last night.

Paul Townend and Willie Mullins shared a double with Childrens List and Westerner Lady in Downpatrick yesterday.

Baraweez landed the Irish Stallion Farms EBF “Ahonoora” Handicap for the second successive year as British raiders dominated the feature event on the final day of the Galway Festival yesterday.

The Charles Byrnes-trained Arnaud turned over odds-on favourite The Game Changer, also in the colours of Gigginstown House Stud, in the featured Stena Line Horizon Chase in Wexford last night.

Gordon Elliott enjoyed the most successful day of his training career when he saddled a short-priced treble in Bellewstown last night to add to his spectacular four-timer in Perth in the afternoon.

Well that was good for the soul, and good for the championship.

Gordon Elliott, enjoying a tremendous run, struck again when saddling a double with Moonmeister and Fort Smith in Downpatrick yesterday.

Positively ridden by Luke Dempsey, the Steve Mahon-trained AranhillChief proved a shock winner of the featured thetote.com Connacht National in Roscommon last night.

Fresh from a double in Tramore on Saturday, Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh landed the Bloomfield House Hotel Mares Hurdle with Daisys Rock in Kilbeggan yesterday.

The Dermot Weld-trained Kaleefa earned a valuable winning bracket when justifying 5/6 favouritism in the Irish Stallion Farms Fillies Maiden in Roscommon last night.

Solita, locally trained by Paul Nolan, gave punters plenty to cheer about in sunny Wexford yesterday as she came from last to first under Luke Dempsey to justify favouritism in the Courtown Rated Novice Hurdle.

Andrew Lynch was in sparkling form in Tramore last evening, completing a superb treble on Punch Bag, Master Appeal and Miss Peacetime.

Top Spin, trained locally by Colm Murphy, appeals in the Chef Phelim Byrne The Ivy Room Handicap Hurdle in Wexford tonight.

War Envoy might make Ryan Moore’s first visit to Dundalk worthwhile by landing the listed Patton Stakes tonight.

Felix Yonger might upstage triple Grade 1 winner Flemenstar on his return to action in today’s Grade 2 Webster Cup in Navan.

In-form Luke Dempsey again proved his star quality when partnering Thunder Zone, the outsider of just three runners, in the CIT race Week Hurdle on Student Race Day in Cork yesterday.

When the 2014 Cheltenham Festival was done and dusted, and everyone else’s thoughts had migrated towards the approaching due ands of Aintree and Punchestown, Willie Mullins’ mind lingered for a mite longer on Prestbury Park.

Willie Mullins made history by training a record eight winners at a Cheltenham Festival when Killultagh Vic landed a thrilling victory in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle.

It’s Gold Cup day at Cheltenham but I won’t be disappointed if the forecast rain arrived overnight and continues through the morning as it will suit my mount, Djakadam, writes Ruby Walsh.