1st - £75,964.00 2nd - £28,620.00 3rd - £14,324.00 4th - £7,155.00 5th - £3,591.00 6th - £1,796.00 7th - £891.00 8th - £459.00

Formscan - Willie Mullins saddled the winner of this contest 12 months ago and appears to have a cracking chance this time around, firing four bullets at the race. The form of Champ Kiely's Lawlor's Of Naas success took a timely boost when the runner-up, Irish Point, struck at Naas on Sunday and he is in danger of going under the radar, while Gaelic Warrior impressed in handicap company at the Dublin Racing Festival and should go well, although his tendency to jump right is an obvious concern. The vote, however, goes to unbeaten gelding IMPAIRE ET PASSE. This French import made a big impression when scoring on his Irish debut at Naas in December and took a step forward when readily winning the Moscow Flyer at Punchestown a month later. Mullins often runs a Supreme Novice hope in that contest, but the selection was very strong at the line that day and today's extra yardage looks a positive. There has been plenty of positive talk surrounding him in the build-up to this year's Festival and he looks like the one they all have to beat. Of the home challenge, Hermes Allen has done nothing wrong in three hurdle appearances and shouldn't be underestimated. He brings winning C&D form to the table and is versatile in terms of ground. Good Land comfortably won a Grade 1 contest at Leopardstown last month and is by no means out of this either.