Morning Assembly (left)© Photo Healy Racing
Ante-post Cheltenham Festival favourite Limini takes centre stage in the Grade Three novice hurdle at Fairyhouse but the supporting card also features the eagerly-awaited return of Pat Fahy's one-time high-class novice chaser Morning Assembly
Morning Assembly was a Grade One-winning novice hurdler prior to his 2013/14 novice chase campaign which featured a Grade Two win and defeat of Gold Cup fancy Don Cossack at Punchestown in November 2013.
He was last seen in April 2014 when third in Grade One company and now makes his reappearance following nearly two years on the sidelines.
Fahy has high hopes for his returning star: "He has everything done and schooled this morning and jumped well. He seems lovely and has had no setback since we got him.
"We haven't forced him at all, but he seems in great form and good and fit. We'll see where we are with him, I'm hoping for a big run and that'll do for me.
"It's great he has dropped to 145 as he now just gets into this race and with 11st 8lb he won't know he has it on his back.
"He had a gallop around Fairyhouse two weeks ago and it's great to be going back there again."
He added: "Along with the Gold Cup, we've him entered in the Ryanair but he'd only run in that if the ground came up soft or heavy - on good ground he'd be wasting his time. He's also in the Grand National Trial at Haydock and has the Bobbyjo Chase as other options."
Morning Assembly faces six opponents including busy Lord Scoundrel and the veteran Seabass
Elsewhere on the card, five of the eight runners in the concluding Weatherbys Ireland (M) (P-A) INH Bumper won their latest respective races and the Willie Mullins-trained Good Thyne Tara is a hopeful choice to build on her debut win at Limerick last May.
By Tom Weekes
