Elsie© Photo Healy Racing
Alelchi Inois bids to make it five from five over fences for Willie Mullins in the Buck House Novice Chase at Punchestown on Thursday.
The Grade Three contest has quite an illustrious history, with the likes of Justified, Trafford Lad and Sizing Europe on the roll of honour and Alelchi Inois is likely to be a popular choice to add his name to the list.
Since making a winning start over the larger obstacles at Tramore at the end of May, the six-year-old has struck at Killarney and twice at Galway under Paul Townend, but Ruby Walsh gets back on board tomorrow having recently returned from injury.
The champion trainer's brother, Tom Mullins, is confident of a bold show from Elsie who won a bumper and a maiden hurdle at the track and easily opened her account over fences at Sligo at the start of the month.
Mullins said: "She's all business at home at the moment. I think she's been in as good a form as she's ever been in her life the last couple of weeks. She's really buzzing.
"So long as there's not too much rain, we'd be expecting a big run from her.
"She gets a good bit of weight from the top horse (Alelchi Inois) with her sex allowance and hopefully she'll pick up some black type, which I think she deserves."
The Gordon Elliott-trained Arzembouy Premier receives weight all round as the only four-year-old in the field.
"It's a good race and we're sticking the blinkers on for the first time, so hopefully that will help him," said Elliott.
"If he could run into a place we'd be delighted."
Noel Meade and Paul Carberry team up with recent Gowran Park winner Benemeade, while Willie Austin's Blacklough bids to get back on track after an early tumble in a good race at Tipperary a week and a half ago.
The field is completed by Philip Hobbs' British raider August Hill the mount of Micheal Nolan.
