THERE is a record 225 Irish-trained entries for the three Grade 1 novice hurdles and Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival next month.

Irish-trained runners attain the largest share of the entries in each of the four Grade 1 contests, but only contain the antepost favourite for one, the Triumph Hurdle, however this weekend’s Dublin Racing Festival is set to shake the markets up.

Eighteen horses were entered in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle. Willie Mullins provided 11 of these triple entries which includes Blackbow, a Grade 2 bumper winner last season, who has yet to run this term. Also entered in all three races is the highly touted Annamix, while Gordon Elliott has left his options open with both Battleoverdoyen and Commander Of Fleet.

Mullins accounts for 23 of the 57 Irish-trained horses in a 98-strong entry for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. The Irish Champion trainer has sent out the winner of the race for three of the previous five years and will be looking to both Aramon and Klassical Dream, both declared for the Chanelle Pharma Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown tomorrow, to emerge as serious contenders for the opening race of the festival.

Elliott is responsible for 12 entries, chief of which, could be Vision D’Honneur, who also has a chance to state his case by racing in the same Leopardstown race tomorrow.

British owner Dai Walters looks to have two leading chances for the two-mile Grade 1 contest in the shape of Betfair Hurdle contender Al Dancer and Angels Breath, a Moira point-to-point winner, who created a big impression on his track debut in a Grade 2 at Ascot.

There are 77 Irish-trained entries in the 139-strong field for the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle. This could be the destination of Battleoverdoyen, who was a surprise omission from the declarations for the Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown today.

J.P. McManus looks to have a strong hand with the Nicky Henderson-trained Champ, unbeaten in his previous four starts, heading the betting, while stablemate and recent Grade 2 winner Birchdale, is also prominent in bookmaker’s lists.

Birchdale also heads the betting for the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle where there are 58 Irish-trained entries among a field of 107. Also among these entries and prominent in the betting are the Mouse Morris-trained Sams Profile, the Pat Fahy-trained Dunvegan and the Philip Dempsey-trained Derrinross.

As expected, Joseph O’Brien holds a strong hand in the Triumph Hurdle with five of the 33 Irish entries among a field of 59.

Fakir D’Oudairies, impressive at Cheltenham last weekend, heads the betting but that could all change tomorrow when Sir Erec and Tiger Tap Tap, among 12 Mullins-trained entries, rematch in the Spring Juvenile Hurdle. In fact only three of the 11 runners in tomorrow’s Grade 1 are not entered in the Triumph.

Other Irish-trained horses of interest to receive entries were Liz Doyle’s Envol Pierji (Ballymore and Albert Bartlett) and Dermot McLoughlin’s Canardier (Ballymore).