The 2006 flat campaign in Ireland has its traditional wind-up at Leopardstown tomorrow with the November Handicap providing a possible winning bridge to the winter game via the top hurdler Al Eile.
Seamus Heffernan will ride the former Aintree hero for the first time in three and a half years and after a decent comeback at Navan last month, Al Eile can repeat his 2004 November Handicap success.
Heffernan, Ballydoyle's number two jockey, could have another very good afternoon in the absence of Kieren Fallon who is in Australia gearing up for the Melbourne Cup ride on Yeats in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Fallon is the top prize-money rider in Ireland for the season with a total of almost €3.5 million in the bag. However, Declan McDonogh is the new champion jockey after netting 89 winners and nearly €2.7 million in prize-money. Chris Hayes will be crowned champion apprentice for the second time with 32 winners already. Not surprisingly, Aidan O'Brien is again champion trainer with prize-money of almost €3.5 million but Dermot Weld has won the most races with 67.
O'Brien has 62 but could bridge the gap to Weld with Honoured Guest in the opening seven-furlong maiden and with High Chaparral's sister Chenchikova whose steady end-of-season improvement looked to continue last Monday with a decent fourth to Arch Rebel. She can secure a valuable Listed bracket in the Knockaire Stakes over seven furlongs.
McDonogh will fancy his chances on Star Inside in the Eyrefield Stakes but the Curragh winner Rock Lily may be open to the sort of improvement that can see her pick up some early black type in her career. Rock Lily's stable companion Accentuate won well here last Monday and could have enough left to defy a 14lb ratings hike in the Premier Nursery.
Cork's feature is the paddypower.com Grand National and the Nina Carberry-ridden Penny Hall looks the type to overcome the serious stamina demands in the three and a half mile marathon. The Cheltenham winner Dun Doire makes his comeback in the two and a half mile handicap hurdle while Mossbank gets another outing in the novice chase.
