Tony McFadden provides an overview of the key things to note on Saturday.
Naas juvenile hurdle a noted stepping-stone
The opening conditions hurdle (13:05) at Naas will attract more attention than a typical race of its type as it has proved a rich source of Cheltenham Festival winners in recent years.
Band of Outlaws, Aramax and Brazil all won at Naas prior to winning the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, while Jazzy Matty was fourth at Naas before going on to land the Fred Winter. Last year's race was also used as a stepping stone to better things by runner-up Murcia who went on to win a Grade 1 at Aintree's Grand National Festival.
A typically small field will head to post on Saturday, but there are some promising, unexposed juveniles among the sextet and four still have the Timeform 'small p' to show that further improvement is expected.
Highland Crystal is one of those likely improvers and gets the vote in the Timeform Analyst Verdicts that appear on Sporting Life racecards. She has to cope with a 7 lb penalty she picked up for winning a listed race at Newbury when last seen in November, but she looked like a good prospect on that occasion, finding plenty to storm six and a half lengths clear. She had slammed her rivals in an Academy Hurdle a couple of weeks earlier and we've probably only just scratched the surface of her ability.
Lulamba's Large P highlights his potential
The Large P, used to highlight a horse is open to significant improvement, is awarded sparingly by Timeform; indeed, only 11 jumps horses in training currently have the Large P and Lulamba is the only chaser among them.
Lulamba was last season's leading juvenile hurdler after exacting revenge for defeat in the Triumph Hurdle when comprehensively turning the form around at Punchestown, and he has made an excellent start over fences. He landed the odds with plenty to spare on his chasing debut at Exeter and again looked like a potential top-notcher when drawing nine and a half lengths clear of runner-up Be Aware in the Grade 1 Henry VIII Novices' Chase at Sandown.
That performance has been rated by Timeform as one of the best by a novice chaser so far this season - he sits at the head of the division along with Irish Arkle winner Romeo Coolio - but the amount of untapped potential Lulamba possesses sets him apart from other novices.
He's not taking on novices in the Game Spirit Chase (14:45) at Newbury, but what he lacks in experience he makes up for in ability, and he already narrowly tops Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings with the potential of much more to come. Nicky Henderson won this race with Sprinter Sacre and Altior when they were novices and Lulamba has the talent to also complete that feat.
Knight Of Allen has strong claims back in handicap company
Knight Of Allen was only fourth of five at Cheltenham on New Year's Day but he contested a valuable novice chase and, by Timeform's reckoning, produced an improved performance and continued his theme of run-to-run progress over fences.
Knight Of Allen probably would have finished last of three on his chasing debut at Chepstow had the leader not fallen at the final fence, but that was still an encouraging effort against a couple of useful rivals and offered hope he would prove better over fences than he had over hurdles.
He soon underlined that point by winning in handicap company at Newbury in December, doing so a bit more decisively than a margin of three-quarters of a length would suggest as he always seemed in control up the run-in but was closed down by a rallying rival close home.
He's only 5 lb higher than for that victory and his subsequent Cheltenham effort suggests that he's well treated on his return to handicap company in the staying handicap chase (15:55) back at Newbury. He comes out with a 3 lb edge on Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings, and shouldn't have an issue stepping back up in trip to nearly three miles.
Also read:
Timeform's Dublin Racing Festival ratings reaction
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