Eustace among nine in Gowran race

Hardy Eustace, winner of last year’s Smurfit Champion Hurdle, is one of nine preliminary entries for Saturday’s Red Mills Trial Hurdle at Gowran.

Trainer Dessie Hughes has entered the eight-year-old for the Grade Two event as a possible final prep race ahead of the Cheltenham Festival next month.

Hardy Eustace’s possible rivals include the Willie Mullins-trained pair of Adamant Approach and Heezapistol and Dermot Weld’s Ansar, who was last seen in action when fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Chase in America.

Noel Meade’s Power Elite, who has not run since winning on the flat last October, L’Antartique, Penny Rich, Say Again and Sky To Sea complete the entries.

The other Grade Two event on the card, the Red Mills Chase, has attracted some decent entries headed by Mullins’ 2002 Irish Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup winner Alexander Banquet.