Ballycasey gets the opportunity to live up to his tall reputation in the Irish Daily Mirror Novice Hurdle at Punchestown on Wednesday.

The long-time ante-post favourite for the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle was forced to miss the Cheltenham Festival due to an 11th-hour setback and Willie Mullins also decided to give Aintree a miss with him to wait for this.

His place at Cheltenham went to stablemate Inish Island, who fared well in third, and the pair get to meet now, with Ruby Walsh choosing Ballycasey.

Mullins said: "He (Ballycasey) travelled over to Cheltenham but he wasn't right so we decided not to run and we brought him home.

"Being by Presenting I think he'll need every bit of the drying ground. In that respect the later start could be in his favour.

"Inish Island will handle the ground and seems to be improving with every run. He's been in good form since Cheltenham and his form is good and solid."

Noel Meade's Road To Riches was previously unbeaten before disappointing on quicker ground at Aintree and leads the opposition, with Pat Fahy's Morning Assembly and the Dessie Hughes-trained Seefood seemingly having to improve to trouble the Mullins pair.