Dark can do the business again
Sabrina Harty's nine-year-old is a bit of an in-and-out performer, but if running as well as he did at Aintree last time will prove hard to beat.
The selection tackled Grade 1 company, producing a cracking display to finish six lengths fourth behind Solwhit. Harty's charge will handle the ground, has the best of the weights and will deliver, if stripping at the peak of his powers.
Robert Tyner's Kandinski gets one final chance to get off the mark in the Ross Golf Course Maiden Hurdle.
He is proving utterly frustrating, having now filled the runner-up berth four times in a row.
Kandinski's latest outing came at Ballinrobe 13 days ago, when looking all over a winner coming away from the second last.
But he again found little for pressure and was eventually well beaten into second by Our Man Zebo.
The form, however, is working out quite nicely with the third, Soweheard, scoring in the meantime and the fourth, Golden Wonder, chasing home Perfect Gentleman at Punchestown on Saturday.
Essentially, it appears, that holding onto Kandinski until the last possible moment is the way to ride him and the booking of Ruby Walsh looks a real plus.
Shark Hanlon's Usuel Smurfer gets the vote in the M D O'Shea's Maiden Hurdle, having caught the eye when fourth to Blackmail in a Leopardstown bumper in January.
Connections have wasted no time launching him over jumps, which is hardly surprising, considering he is already an impressive winner in the point-to-point fields.
