The Irish can strike gold in the Stayers' - but Tuesday could be tough

The Unibet Champion Hurdle and Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle went to Irish-trained runners last March, and were it not for the presence of Constitution Hill I would be confident of lightning striking twice.

Constitution Hill is undoubtedly the most exciting horse in training but he will have to fend off some decent rivals should the likes of State Man and Vauban turn up for the opening-day highlight.

Let us not forget Honeysuckle either, as many in the racing world seem to have. The Dublin Racing Festival will tell us all we need to know about her, but part of me thinks she won't be going off anywhere near as big 8-1 at the festival in March.