Dual winner Flooring Porter, Grand National hero Noble Yeats and previous Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle victors Paisley Park and Sire Du Berlais are all set to line up in this year’s race.

Fergal O’Brien’s Long Walk winner Crambo, the Gordon Elliott-trained Teahupoo and the enigmatic duo of Asterion Forlonge and Champ have also been declared for what appears a fascinating renewal of the three-mile contest.

A total of 13 have been declared, with Willie Mullins’ Sir Gerhard another big player along with Dashel Drasher and Home By The Lee.

Janadil and Buddy One have also been declared.

Last year’s winner Envoi Allen leads 11 in the Ryanair Chase for Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore.

The Cheveley Park Stud-owned 10-year-old has not run since November but has a habit of reserving his best for the Festival.

Paul Nicholls’ Stage Star needs to bounce back from a poor run on New Year’s Day but previously won the Paddy Power Chase under top weight. Stablemate Hitman also runs.

Dan Skelton’s Protektorat drops back in trip having had a crack at the Gold Cup for the last two years, Elliott runs Conflated and Fil Dor while Willie Mullins is represented by Capodanno.

The one horse who will not be suited by Tuesday’s rain is Joseph O’Brien’s Banbridge, who was a non-runner at the Festival last year when the ground went soft.

Ahoy Senor, Fugitif and the supplemented Ga Law make up the field.

The third Grade One on the card is the Turners Novices’ Chase in which an open field of 11 has been declared.

Ginny’s Destiny is gaining a reputation as a course specialist while Grey Dawning, Iroko and Gary Moore’s Le Patron all feature in a strong home team.

Facile Vega will be looking to redeem his reputation for Mullins who also runs Sharjah.

Elliott’s Brighterdaysahead carries plenty of stable confidence in the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle where she will face the promising Jade De Grugy and Dysart Enos.

A full field of 24 will go to post in the Pertemps Network Final in which Farouk D’Alene is top weight.

There are 21 in the Trustatrader Plate, in which Jonjo O’Neill’s Crebilly is well fancied while Angels Dawn will bid for back-to-back wins in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase

Fergal O’Brien’s Springtime Promise continued on an upward trajectory with an impressive victory in the Jane Seymour Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown.

An experienced point-to-pointer with two victories in that discipline for Gary McGill on her CV, the bay changed hands to join O’Brien ahead of the current season.

She made her debut for new connections with a two-length win at Huntingdon in January before going on to land another novice event at Sedgefield later the same month.

At Sandown she stepped steeply up to Grade Two company for the Weatherbys Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide-sponsored Jane Seymour, starting at 11-1 under regular jockey Connor Brace.

In a field of seven she ran a pleasing race and jumped neatly throughout to pull away on the approach to the line and secure a three-length victory, extending her winning streak to five consecutive races both under rules and otherwise.

“It was a very good run, her form really stacked up from Huntingdon,” O’Brien said.

“It was hard work for her at Sedgefield, but Connor always thought she’d be better in a better run race.

“She jumped and travelled really well. She didn’t pull, she was a bit too keen in her other races, but today was perfect for her and she saw it out very well – we’re over the moon with her.

“She’s very straightforward, very honest, she’s a good ride at home and she’s very easy to do so she’s got loads of potential.”

Springtime Promise is entered for the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and was cut from 50-1 to 33-1 with Betfair for that race, which has been won for the past two years by winners of the Jane Seymour.

O’Brien added: “I’m delighted for the Keeping The Dream Alive syndicate, we’ll have a look and see what the ground comes up like at Cheltenham and see where we can go next.”

Elsewhere on the card Dan Skelton’s Etalon caught the eye in the Team Forces “Ubique” Handicap Chase, a race he won under Harry Skelton by nine lengths as the 4-6 favourite.

The success is the latest instalment in the gelding’s chasing career, which started with a win on debut at Newbury and continued when he was triumphant in a Warwick novice in January.

Skelton said: “We didn’t really have a hold-up in the autumn, but he was a bit slow to come to hand. He’s got his act together now and was always going to be a chaser and saw it out well today.

“I do think for now he is a two-miler and on balance he’s going to miss Cheltenham and go to Aintree, we will run him in the Grade One novice chase there (Maghull Novices’ Chase).

“We would like to aim high and see if we can create something and with the greatest of respect, if he can’t win a Grade One he will get another chance to run in the Grand Annual in the future.”

The Castel Royal Artillery Gold Cup went the way of Major Will Kellard, who rode Jamie Snowden’s Farceur Du Large to a six-and-a-half-length victory as the 13-8 favourite.

The winning horse was one of a trio in contention over the last fence, where Fil D’Ariane fell and hampered Broken Halo, leaving the grey to gallop home and add this prize to his Grand Military Gold Cup title.

Kamsinas built on the promise of his previous outing when landing the Betfair Racing Podcasts Newton Novices’ Hurdle at Haydock.

Trained by Fergal O’Brien, the six-year-old had gone close in Grade Two company at Cheltenham behind Neil King’s Lookaway and when the winner ran a big race in the Greatwood Hurdle afterwards, O’Brien knew he had a nice youngster on his hands.

He was taking on a couple of well-regarded types in Henry Daly’s Bowenspark and the Lucinda Russell-trained Primoz, but they could not live with Kamsinas (16-5) in the straight.

Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero’s Making Headway tried to make a race of it, but still went down by a length and a quarter behind Paddy Brennan on the winner.

O’Brien said: “We were very hopeful – I’m never confident – as he’d been working well and was very unlucky at Cheltenham when he got stopped in his run.

“That form was franked by the winner and what I loved about him there was he threw himself over the last showing a great will to win.

“I’m delighted with him, he’s a super little horse. We’ll all sit and have a chat about what next but we thought something like this was in him. We need these days.

“It’s a long road to Cheltenham in March and hopefully there’ll be a lot of races before then. I think he’ll get further and he’s already shown he handles Cheltenham.”

Dan Skelton hopes the handicapper does not get too carried away after Real Stone coasted to victory in the betting.betfair.com Handicap Chase.

When his two main market rivals, Cheddleton and Pay The Piper, dropped away, the 15-8 favourite coasted to a 20-length win under Harry Skelton.

Skelton said: “The first thing I have to say is that I hope the other two are OK because they clearly haven’t given their true running, they are good horses on their day.

“When you’ve been having a bit of a run like we have, when there’s nothing wrong with them but winners are not exactly flowing, it’s nice to enjoy one like that.

“We’ll go quietly with him, he’s not had loads of racing and he probably has to go left-handed which rules out those Ascot races, but we hope to end up in something like the Red Rum (at Aintree).”

A trip to Newbury on Saturday week is a possibility for Dysart Enos having delighted Fergal O’Brien at Huntingdon earlier this month.

Unbeaten in three starts in bumpers, including when blitzing the field to claim Grade Two honours at Aintree in the spring, she enhanced her perfect record on her hurdles debut with a thoroughly impressive display in the hands of Paddy Brennan.

She scorched seven and a half lengths clear of her rivals on that occasion and her handler is now considering a shot at Listed glory in the Play Coral “Racing-Super-Series” For Free Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle on December 2, with the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival remaining the five-year-old’s ultimate aim.

O’Brien said: “She will be entered for Newbury and we’ll have a look and see what’s about. We are just trying to pick our way to try to get her to Cheltenham.

“She’s in great form and has come out of the race at Huntingdon well and we keep our fingers crossed.

“There was a lot to like about it, she was a bit keen and a bit novicey at some of her jumps, but at the important part of the race she quickened up nicely.”

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