Ruby Walsh: This truly is the month of opportunity in the jump world

FANCIED: Panda Boy and JJ Slevin win the Ladbrokes We Play Together Beginners Steeplechase last May. Panda Boy is fancied for the Irish Grand National. Pic: Healy Racing.

Saturday is April 8, and in the next three weeks, between now and April 29, three Grand National winners and 26 Grade One races will be decided in the heart of the National Hunt world: the British Isles.

We had the “championships” in March, and now is the time for those who hit the crossbar there to get a go. Well, not all of them, because the Cheltenham winners will be back out to round their seasons off in perfect fashion, but almost all of those who lined up in March will have a better chance of success this month. Add in those who weren’t considered good enough, and you have a substantial pool of horses.

We will see the great divide and requirement of races to fill 11 days of racing at three festivals, plus six days of action divided between Cork, Ayr and Cheltenham, and Sandown’s UK season finale day provides a feast of top action.

That quantity of choice doesn’t create the same level of competition, but it does create opportunities, and the 2023 National Hunt season will round itself off with a bang.

Saturday afternoon at Fairyhouse, Billaway will be the first to look for compensation but will struggle to find it against Ferns Lock, although Allegorie De Vassy should find it easier at 3.20pm. Favori De Champdou and Seabank Bistro drop in class at 4.30pm but, again, both could struggle to find the winning thread as the improving Verdant Pace is the one to beat.

Sunday, the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Honeysuckle Mares’ Novice Hurdle sets the tone of dividing. The March equivalent - although the festival race is of lesser status in grade - saw You Wear It Well triumph, but she is not coming to Fairyhouse and, like Stage Star, who won the Turners Novice Chase, will instead run at Aintree later this week. That leaves the door ajar for those they conquered at Cheltenham to triumph in Meath. With Halka Du Tabert and Mighty Potter, Gordon Elliott could be the principal benefactor.

Monday will be about one race, the Irish Grand National, but, of the 35 horses in the supporting Grade Two races, 20 ran at Cheltenham but only two won. Blood Destiny, Zanahiyr and Janidil are the likely three to collect if they line up.

As for the National, 14 of the 46 who could be declared Saturday morning are coming from festival runs, and the Kim Muir one-two of Angels Dawn and Stumptown will be on plenty of people’s shortlists.

My list will contain only novices, as they were the only ones I managed to win the race on. I Am Maximus, who is a maiden over fences, just like Comanche Court was in 2000, tops that list.

The ground could be too soft for Chemical Energy, so I will leave him out. Ash Tree Meadow hasn’t run since October, so fitness has to be a concern, while Tenzing needs to jump better.

Panda Boy is on my radar, and his Paddy Power run at Christmas ticks the right boxes for me. Amirite will love the distance, so he is number three. Angels Dawn is improving at a rate of knots, so is number four, and Dunboyne’s Thyestes run gives him a life, so I make him number five.

Punitive is out of form, and Gallant John Joe is a ten-year-old, so he is hardly improving. Must Be Obeyed looks highly enough rated, and Stumptown needs six defections Saturday morning to get a run and, in any case, is 28lbs higher than winning at Thurles in January.

Fakiera lines up on the back of pulling up on his last two starts so, even if he gets in, he is not exactly setting the world on fire right now.

I Am Maximus, Panda Boy, Amirite (I hope I am), Angels Dawn, and Dunboyne are the five I have whittled this down to.

Royal Pagaille looks set to take part, so the weights will rise six pounds Saturday morning, bringing I Am Maximus to 10-13. Under 11st is ideal, but going right-handed might not be.

Panda Boy will carry only 10-4, leaving Amirite on 10-2. The slow ground could blunt his chance but won’t hinder either Angels Dawn or Dunboyne, who are on the same weight as Amirite. Five has become three, and Panda Boy is my pick of that three.

Later in the week, those who couldn’t cope with Galopin Des Champs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup will lock horns in Thursday’s Alder Hey Aintree Bowl.

Ahoy Senor, Bravesmansgame, Shiskin and A Plus Tard face off in an intriguing battle of who still has fuel in the tank. The obvious answer is A Plus Tard, and Rachael Blackmore’s swift decision to pull him up when he was severely hampered in the Gold Cup could be rewarded at Aintree.

Thirty-five minutes later, Constitution Hill takes what will possibly be his last start over hurdles.

The two-and-a-half-mile trip won’t hinder him, but connections deserve full marks for considering a potential Gold Cup tilt down the road. I doubt I would be brave enough to switch a dominant horse in one sphere into another.

Thursday’s card at Aintree is a belter, and Stage Star should follow up his Turner’s success when he contests the Manifesto. With Lossiemouth and Gala Marceau waiting for Punchestown, Zenta could plunder the Anniversary Hurdle for Willie Mullins.

Friday could bring a surprise or two, with only one Cheltenham hero tackling the equivalent contest at Aintree. That is The Real Whacker, who runs in the Mildmay Novices Chase.

With no Energumene-Envoi Allen clash in the Marsh, it leaves the door open for a possible hat-trick bid in the race for Fakir D’Oudairies. The same goes for the Top Novice hurdle, as neither Marine Nationale nor Facile Vega will run, so a new Grade One novice winner will be added to the season’s final list.

Yes, this truly is the month of opportunity.