ELLIOTT’S D’ETEL IS A CHRISTMAS CRACKER

RIVIERE D’ETEL is taken to shade a fascinating clash in the Grade 1 Racing Post Novice Chase as the four-day Leopardstown Christmas Festival gets underway today.

The Gordon Elliott-trained starlet has looked a terrific recruit to fences on the evidence of her three runs this season.

After her successful chasing debut at Fairyhouse in the autumn, the fouryear-old was a brilliant winner of a Grade 2 at Punchestown next time.

On her most recent start at Navan she appeared to face a straight forward task and she duly won with plenty to spare.

This looks her biggest test to date but she can make previous experience and her four-year-old allowance count against Ferny Hollow.

That rival won the Cheltenham bumper in 2020 and has been restricted to just two runs since then.

On the first of those he defeated Bob Olinger in a Gowran maiden hurdle last November.

He was then off the track until Punchestown three weeks ago when he returned with a taking debut over fences.

Ferny Hollow should have no trouble progressing into a Grade 1 performer as a chaser and he is expected to end the season as one of the star novice chasers in the country.

However, he might just be vulnerable on this occasion with just one previous run to his name.

Elliott is also expected to land the Grade 2 juvenile hurdle with Fil Dor, unbeaten in two starts for his trainer.

The gelding looked a prospect when winning well at Down Royal a couple of months ago and confirmed that impression at Fairyhouse last time.

He should be able to deal with Lunar Power who gave him a decent test when they met a month ago.

Willie Mullins should begin the meeting with a double as he appears to have a strong hand in the day’s maiden hurdles.

The champion trainer can kick off the meeting by striking with the French import State Man in the four-year-old maiden hurdle.

Half an hour later it is the turn of another top prospect in Sir Gerhard who won the Cheltenham bumper last season.

He did then meet with defeat in the champion bumper at Punchestown but that should not be held against him. He should be a top class hurdler.

Elsewhere on the card, Marvel Fan is a hopeful choice in a competitive novice handicap hurdle after springing a surprise at Gowran last month.

And in the two-mile handicap chase it is hard to look past Take All who has been shaping up quite nicely since going chasing a couple of months ago.

FERNY HOLLOW faces “a tough call” to defend his unbeaten record over obstacles today at Leopardstown.

The Cheveley Park Stud-owned son of Westerner is the 7-4 market leader for the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham in March.

And the bookies list Willie Mullins’ six-year-old (right) as the odds-on favourite in the Grade 1 Racing Post Novice Chase against the Gordon Elliott-trained Riviere D’Etel.

As a four-year-old mare, Riviere D’Etel, whose three chase successes this season have been gained by an aggregate 44 lengths, receives 13lb from Paul Townend’s mount. “That could be a tough call,” said Mullins. “She’s getting the gender allowance and the four-year-old’s allowance, and that can be pretty telling.”

But Ireland’s champion trainer declared himself “very happy” with Ferny Hollow’s fencing debut, in which he beat Henry de Bromhead’s reopposing Coeur Sublime by four lengths at Punchestown three weeks ago.

“He hadn’t run for a good while, he had to make his own running and, when he got joined over the last four fences, he just changed into ‘racehorse’ mode,” said Mullins.

JACK KENNEDY is “good to go” as the Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning jockey makes his return from injury at Leopardstown today. Kennedy suffered a broken arm in a fall at Navan at the beginning of last month.

Willie digs a Hollow rave now