Irish trainers dominate the entries for the Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle and Mrs Paddy Power Mares Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
Of the 19 entries received for the Grade Two Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase on the Friday of the Festival, 12 are trained in Ireland.
Gavin Cromwell has handed an entry in the extended two and a half mile contest to last year's winner Limerick Lace, saying: "She has just been entered for the Mares’ Chase at Cheltenham again and there is a chance she could go there and on to Aintree again.
"I am hoping that she is a spring horse as her two runs this season have not seen her at her best."
Cromwell has also entered rising star Bioluminescence - last seen splitting Dancing City and Good Land in a Grade Three - along with Brides Hill, Je T'Ai Porte and Only By Night
Limerick Lace stayed on best of all to deny 15/8 favourite and this season's ante-post market leader Dinoblue by three quarters of a length last March and the Willie Mullins-trained runner-up could re-oppose as may fourth home and stablemate Allegorie de Vassy. Mullins has also handed entries to Hauturiere, Judicieuse Allen and Spindleberry.
A healthy 46 entries have been received for Thursday's Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle, over half of whom are trained in Ireland, and Mullins is again well represented in the Grade Two over the near two mile trip.
However, topping the ante-post betting is Cromwell's sole entry Sixandahalf.
Sixandahalf has only had one start over hurdles, running out an impressive 12 length winner of a Fairyhouse maiden.
Mullins is responsible for 10 of the 46 entries.
Maughreen is the shortest priced of his runners having also impressed in winning a maiden on her sole start over obstacles. The six-year-old, whose dam is a half-sister to Faugheen, was an impressive winner of her only other racecourse start when landing a mares' bumper at Punchestown in January 2024, powering her to the top of the market for the Champion Bumper at last year's Festival only for a setback to rule her out of Cheltenham.
Karoline Banbou is another possible leading runner from the powerful Closutton yard while Paul Nicholls could be represented by the progressive Jubilee Alpha, a good winner of a Listed Hurdle at Taunton on her second start before following up in a valuable contest at Windsor during the Berkshire Winter Million weekend.
Joseph O'Brien has given an entry to his juvenile hurdler Galileo Dame who was last seen hustling up leading JCB Triumph Hurdle fancy Hello Neighbour at the Dublin Racing Festival and the four-year-old would receive a handy 10lb weight-for-age allowance if given the go-ahead to take on her elders.
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