Tom Taaffe's Cane Brake has been given the go-ahead to compete in Monday's Powers Whiskey Irish National at Fairyhouse.

CHELTENHAM Gold Cup fifth Cane Brake has been allotted top-weight of 12st for the Powers Whiskey Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday.

WE can dress it up anyway we want, but one has to conclude this was a desperately disappointing Cheltenham for Irish horses.

Ferdy Murphy is to launch an all-out attack on the Powers Whisky Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on April 9.

PUNTERS have struggled all week, but fortunes were taken out of the ring by Wichita Lineman in the Brit Insurance Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham yesterday, giving Tony McCoy a much needed change of fortune.

IF THE BOOKIES had it all their own way for the first three days of the festival, the punters finally had their moment yesterday with victories for heavily backed favourites Wichita Lineman and Kauto Star.

Course specialist Exotic Dancer gets the nod to land the totesport Gold Cup at the final stage of the Cheltenham Festival this afternoon.

ON FEBRUARY 8, 1998, Imperial Call ran his final race under the guidance of Fergie Sutherland, who had famously trained him to success in the 1996 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Last year’s winner Whyso Mayo is among a 43-strong entry for the Christie’s Foxhunter Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

ARAN CONCERTO will travel to Cheltenham next month with all guns blazing, following a smooth success in the Deloitte Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown on Saturday.

Aran Concerto could be heading to Cheltenham with the tag of “Irish Banker” around his neck after an effortless success in the Grade One Deloitte Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown.

CHELTENHAM Gold Cup third Forget The Past produced a sparkling display of jumping and staying power to land the MacLochlainn Road Markings Ltd Kinloch Brae Chase at Thurles yesterday.

IF ever a horse has future Cheltenham Gold Cup prospect written all over him it is surely Jonjo O'Neill's Black Jack Ketchum.

VICTORY for the Irish comes no sweeter than in the Gold Cup and if favourite Beef Or Salmon yet again failed to lead the shamrock-bedecked hordes to their racing Valhalla, Mouse Morris, Conor O’Dwyer and War Of Attrition stepped into the breach to bring racing’s Blue Riband home for the second consecutive year.

THE Gold Cup was a magnificent spectacle with a great young horse in War Of Attrition being ridden to perfection by a fantastic old soldier in Conor O’Dwyer. And we had an Irish 1-2-3. Happy days.

JOHN THOMAS McNAMARA, who received widespread acclaim for his Cheltenham success on Spot Thedifference, was again seen at his strongest when winning the Garryrichard Stud Tertratema Cup yesterday on 8/1 shot Good Step.

GOWRAN PARK this afternoon plays host to a seven-race programme, completely dedicated to point-to-pointers.