Beef Or Salmon is reported to be in fine shape following his seasonal reappearance at Limerick yesterday.

THEY came in their thousands to see Cheltenham Gold Cup aspirant Beef Or Salmon at Limerick yesterday, but the eight-year-old could only manage a disappointing fifth behind Colca Canyon in the Munster National.

Beef Or Salmon failed to shine on his return to action at Limerick today as he finished a well-beaten fifth under top weight in the Anglo Irish Bank Munster National Handicap Chase.

Beef Or Salmon is a short-priced favourite to take the Anglo Irish Bank Munster National at Limerick on Sunday.

FLORIDA PEARL begins what is very likely to be his final assault on the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup when he has his first race for almost nine months at Fairyhouse tomorrow.

PADDY MULLINS’ Nopekan is fancied to land the nap in the Heineken W T O’Grady Memorial Hurdle at Thurles this afternoon.

TONY MULLINS’ Barrow Drive can get us away to a flier for the New Year in the Wilf Dooly Chase at Tramore this afternoon.

BEEF OR SALMON, whose jumping was suspect on his seasonal reappearance at Clonmel, will have a racecourse school this morning in preparation for Sunday’s Grade One John Durkan Memorial ‘Chase at Punchestown.

Strong Flow justified all of the hype as he strode away with the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Newbury today.

IT is no great exaggeration to say that this weekend sees the real start of the National Hunt campaign.

IT looked as if it was going to be a long road back for odds-on punters at Punchestown this week, following Moscow Flyer’s mishap at the second last in yesterday’s BMW Chase.

THIRTY-NINE horses remain in the €170,000 Powers Gold Label Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday.

THE under-rated Kieran Kelly came of age at Cheltenham yesterday when partnering his first Festival winner aboard Dessie Hughes’ Hardy Eustace in the Royal and SunAlliance Novices’ Hurdle.

THE Bowe family, already looking forward to Limestone Lad in the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, will travel with all guns blazing following the superb display of Solerina in yesterday’s Deloitte and Touche Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown.

LE COUDRAY, considering the extremely testing cconditions, produced a sparkling display to outclass Barrow Drive in the Pierse Group Drinmore Novice Chase at Fairyhouse yesterday.

Barrow Drive completed a five-timer for trainer Tony Mullins in the mud at Punchestown to compensate for a mishap earlier in the afternoon to another of the stable’s stars, The Galway Man.

Barrow Drive could be on course for an early trip to Cheltenham after landing the National Lottery Agent Champion Chase at Gowran Park.

THE Listed Ardilaun House Hotel Oyster Stakes at Galway this afternoon looks decidedly tricky and centres very much on just how good a horse Aidan O’Brien’s Sorcerous really is.

HEART MIDOLTIAN impressed at Cork earlier in the month and he is napped to do the business again in the O’Mahony Packaging Hurdle at Tralee today.

VINTHEA, closely related to the great Vintage Crop, overcame a bad draw to land the McDonogh Handicap, under a super Timmy Houlihan drive, at Galway last night.

DERMOT WELD'S Mutakarrim is a reasonably confident choice to provide the solution to the 27-runner Albatros Feeds Maiden Hurdle at Galway tonight.