1st - €90,000.00 2nd - €30,000.00 3rd - €15,000.00 4th - €7,500.00

FormscanBy Donal Murphy - The first Grade 1 of the season has boiled down to a match between Henry de Bromhead and Gordon Elliot. From being a model of consistency in his early days, de Bromhead's ENVOI ALLEN is now quite an enigmatic character. A brilliant winner of the Ryanair at Cheltenham, he disappointed on his return to action at Gowran in September, with the testing ground there probably not too his liking. Successful in this race 12-months ago and with a perfect record of four from four at Down Royal, the multiple Grade 1 winner may cause a minor surprise. Gerri Colombe is the young pretender in the line-up and it's difficult to pick holes in his form, with the seven-year-old unlucky not to hold a perfect record. He has to prove himself against more experienced rivals now, all of whom have race fitness on their side. 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Minella Indo comes into this race on the back of a fine win at Punchestown last month, but might struggle to contain younger rivals here. An excellent third in the Gold Cup, Conflated has been disappointing in two starts since. The highest rated runner in the field, he will need to bounce back to his best if he is to feature here.

A steeplechase for five years old and upwards
Weights - 11st 10lbs Mares allowed 7lbs