Empire Of Dirt a doubt for Irish National

Cheltenham Festival hero Empire Of Dirt is unlikely to make a swift return to action in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National on Easter Monday.

The Colm Murphy-trained nine-year-old fell at the first fence in the Fairyhouse feature last year and also came to grief on his return to action in the Troytown Chase at Navan in November.

He has endured mixed fortunes since, but showed his true talent when scoring at Leopardstown in January and backed that up with an impressive display in last week’s Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate at Prestbury Park.