WILLIE MULLINS has left both Flat Out and Quel Esprit in Sunday’s Frank Ward Solicitors Arkle Novice Chase at Leopardstown on Sunday – but stable companion Mikael D’Haguenet is a notable absentee.

TWO men sitting in a bar, each drinking a pint. The first man’s glass is half-full. The second man’s is half-empty. Here is their conversation.

It doesn’t matter whether Bertie Ahern or Enda Kenny is the next Taoiseach, Justice Minister Michael McDowell claimed today.