Following blockbuster racing weekends at Navan and Punchestown, the focus turns this weekend to Fairyhouse. The Co Meath track’s two-day Winter Festival has a knack of producing future Cheltenham winners.

Last year’s Sunday card at Fairyhouse produced six Cheltenham Festival winners and 13 individual future Grade 1 winners.

The unbeaten Impaire Et Passe is expected to light up next Sunday’s card when he reappears in the Grade 1 Bar One Racing Hatton’s Grace Hurdle.

Trained by Willie Mullins, the five-year-old son of Diamond Boy ran four times over hurdles last season, winning Grade 1 events at both the Cheltenham and Punchestown Festivals. Both of those races were over approximately two and a half miles, which is the distance of the Hatton’s Grace.

Opponents

Likely opponents include last year’s winner Teahupoo for Gordon Elliott and his stable companions Irish Point and Sire Du Berlais.

Elliott said of Teahupoo: “He’s in great form, he’s doing really well. He will be in the Hatton’s Grace and Leopardstown (at Christmas) as well.

“If he improved five or six pounds from last year, which with age you would like to think he would have, he would have to be in the mix with all those stayers. Even last year he was in the mix and was unlucky in the Stayers’ Hurdle, he ran a great race.”

Of Sire Du Berlais, he said: “He’s so unimpressive at home, even to look at, he doesn’t do a stroke. He’s not getting any younger, but he’s a great horse and we’re lucky to have him. It’s hard to get him fit, it takes a couple of runs to get him fit, he’s so laid back.”

Likely opponents include last year’s winner Teahupoo for Gordon Elliott and his stable companions Irish Point and Sire Du Berlais.

Irish Point made a winning return at Down Royal recently, and Elliott said of him: “He’s probably a hard horse to place. He’s in the Hatton’s Grace and I wouldn’t be shocked if I went there with him.

“He could (go over three miles), but I just don’t know if I want to go three miles with him at the moment.

“He’s a good horse, but might just be stuck between a rock and a hard place. He might not have the pace for the really good two-mile races, and I think he will stay three miles, but it’s whether I want to be doing it at this stage of his career or not, he’s only a young horse.”

The Hatton’s Grace is one of three Grade 1 races on the Sunday card, all sponsored by Bar One Racing. The first of the trio is the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle, won last year by future Cheltenham hero Marine Nationale.

Among the early entries for the two-mile contest are Henry de Bromhead’s An Tobar, Gordon Elliott’s Down Memory Lane and Gavin Cromwell’s Encanto Bruno.

Strong hand

Elliott has a strong hand in the Drinmore Novice Chase with Found A Fifty one of his more likely runners. The Cromwell-trained Letsbeclearaboutit holds strong claims, as does multiple Grade 1-winning hurdler Sharjah, trained by Willie Mullins.

Fairyhouse manager Peter Roe said: “The Saturday card promises to be very interesting too. Last year that day saw Facile Vega win one division of the maiden hurdle, and Good Land unseated rider in the other division. I Am Maximus was beaten by a short-head in the beginners’ chase.

“This year we have a new Grade 3 hurdle for four-year-olds on the Saturday. It used to be the Fishery Lane at Naas and now it’s called the WillowWarm Hurdle. It wouldn’t surprise me if it attracted one or two of last season’s leading juveniles.”