Rite can book passage

RITE Of Passage must be strongly fancied to book his ticket to Cheltenham by landing the Book Your Festival Tickets Hurdle at Punchestown today.

The versatile Dermot Weld-trained six-year-old impressed on his hurdling debut at Leopardstown last month and, although facing a much stiffer task today, has the class to se him through in the hands of Robbie McNamara.

Winner of bumpers at Galway and Naas, Rite Of Passage ran a cracker when third to Dunguib in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at Cheltenham last year.