SUNDAY WEEKENDER

13:50 Leopardstown

Gordon Elliott won this race with Samcro last year and saddles the early favourite Vision D’Honneur who was a ready winner at Punchestown last month, travelling noticeably smoother than rivals and easing to the lead before the final hurdle, before staying on well under a hands and heels ride. That was a marked improvement on first hurdles run so with further progress expected it would be no surprise to see a big run here. That said, it was hard not to be impressed with Klassical Dream on debut for Willie Mullins, who travelled strongly and in the main jumped economically when winning over course and distance over the Christmas period, beating the re-opposing Entoucas and the aforementioned Vision D’Honneur in to second and fourth respectively. He lost a bit of momentum when he bunny-hopped the last hurdle but quickly asserted again and will have learnt a lot from that race.

Both Mullins and Elliott runners have Supreme entries and they look the most likely to battle it out at the finish, with preference for Klassical Dream who looks a smart prospect and should be capable of confirming the form with Vision D’Honneur.

KLASSICAL DREAM (WIN) – NAP