'I love the way Appreciate It has taken to fences' - Arkle hope in action

Sunday: Naas

Willie Mullins tends to run his leading Arkle hope in the Rathmore Stud Irish EBF Novice Chase (1.20) and it looks as though he is doing so again this year as Appreciate It bids to follow up his decisive chase debut win at Punchestown.

Energumene won this 2m event in 2021, while Blue Lord was successful last year, and Appreciate It will be a warm order to make it seven wins since 2013 for Mullins.

The runaway winner of the 2021 Supreme Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival was an emphatic winner at Punchestown on his first start since last season's Champion Hurdle, and the horse he beat there looks his only conceivable danger here.

Top Bandit loomed up menacingly on the outside of Appreciate It between the final two fences at Punchestown but, despite getting the last all wrong, the festival winner was still seven lengths too good at the line. A repeat of that will be more than good enough.

Appreciate It is priced between 9-2 and 13-2 for the Arkle, depending on where you shop, and Paul Townend was impressed with his jumping at Punchestown.

He said: "Appreciate It takes on Top Bandit again after beating him at Punchestown last month. I was very happy with Appreciate It that day. He is idle in front and I only did enough to pull away down the straight.

"I did love the way Appreciate It took to fences that day and I am really looking forward to getting back on him.

"I imagine he will be quite short in the betting and we will be disappointed if he can't make it two from two over fences."

Telmesomethinggirl: a Cheltenham Festival winner in 2021Credit: Michael Steele

The opening Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Beginners Chase (12.50) has attracted a small but select field and the star name among the sextet is undoubtedly Telmesomethinggirl, winner of the mares' novice hurdle at the 2021 festival.

She was an expensive failure on her chasing debut at Thurles when beaten at 4-6 but remains as short as 8-1 with William Hill for the Mrs Paddy Power Mares Chase at Cheltenham in March. Victory here would put her back on the right track for that.

Instit has some decent form on her CV with her best effort coming at the Punchestown festival last April when second to Party Central, and Townend is convinced we will see a much better effort from her chasing debut at Cork.

He said: "Instit will improve a lot from her first run. She jumped brilliantly that day and just got a bit tired down the straight. This is a hot race for a mares' beginners.

"You have Telmesomethinggirl thrown into the mix as well, but we are getting weight off her, so I'll be hoping she can improve plenty for her run at Cork and go very close."

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