1st - €50,150.00 2nd - €17,000.00 3rd - €8,500.00 4th - €4,250.00 5th - €2,550.00 6th - €1,700.00 Blustery

FormscanBy Tom Weekes - CILAOS EMERY can enhance his unbeaten two race chase record with another win here. A Grade 1 winning novice hurdler in April 2017, injury has twice subsequently interrupted his career. He was a taking winner of his chase debut at Gowran in January before missing the rest of his novice chase season but returned in excellent shape when beating Grade 1 winner Ornua in a Grade 3 contest at Naas last month. He has ideal trip and ground conditions today and might beat main danger Ballyoisin, the joint-sixth rated chaser in Ireland. Ballyoisin is himself an admirable free-going type who gained his second Fortria Chase at Navan last month. His recent Fortria win was on testing ground but he is nonetheless better known as a summer performer and is often given his winter break around November/December. Interestingly, a strict form-line involving A Plus Tard (second in the recent Fortria Chase) and Duc De Genievres (third to CILAOS EMERY at Gowran) tied together in December 2018, and today gives Ballyoisin a 1.5L advantage over CILAOS EMERY but who now receives 3lbs, meaning there may not be much, a length or two, between the pair. Great Field is a somewhat reckless individual who nonetheless has proven himself a high class chaser at this trip. He fell early-on in this race last year and while he also fell at the final fence (when second) in a Grade 1 chase at Leopardstown subsequently, disappointed on his final start of the season at Punchestown and comes here on something of a retrieval mission on his reappearance run. Us And Them is a largely unheralded horse despite filling second in four successive Grade 1 novice chases at all the big festivals last season. His latest effort at Cheltenham last month was poor and while he was reported to have lost a shoe, might still struggle to win today. %0A

A steeplechase for five years old and upwards
Weights - 11st 4lbs ;Mares allowed 7lbs ;
Penalties - to count from 1st June, 2018 Winner of three steeplechases or of a Grade 3 steeplechase 3lb extra Of two Grade 3 steeplechases or of a Grade 2 steeplechase 6lb extra Of a Grade 1 steeplechase 8Handicapper.