Many racegoers will be keeping their fingers crossed that it is a case of the best wine being kept until last, and there will be no shortage of spectators lingering in the stands in the hope of seeing a future Cheltenham winner being put through its paces.

Disappointingly, due to the recent bad weather, the turnout of horses is unlikely be as big as in other years.

Leopardstown's manager Tom Burke explained: "We've been getting enquiries from all the usual people - Edward O'Grady, Charlie Swan, Dessie Hughes and the like - but how it will work out, it's hard to know.

"The ground here will be very testing, but the offer is there for them and they can make up their own minds what they want to do."

The feature race on the card is the Mick Holly Memorial Handicap Chase and this contest has attracted a number of old adversaries, notably Jim, Slim Pickings and American Jennie. Slim Pickings is now in the care of Tom Taaffe and he was a beaten horse when coming to grief at the final fence in the Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park.

His former handler Robert Tyner is represented by Camden Tanner who ran an eyecatching race on his seasonal reappearance when third in a handicap chase at this venue in January.

Roger Loughran's mount is just 5lb higher now than when he was second in the 2005 Paddy Power Chase. Preference, however, is for the Michael Cullen-trained American Jennie who was fourth to Point Barrow in last year's Irish Grand National.

Racing also takes place at Clonmel where jockey Timmy Murphy can make the journey worthwhile with success on the Pat Hughes-trained Farmer Brown in the Clonmel Hurdle and Monoceros in the Comeragh Maiden Hurdle.