IT’S 20 years since Brave Inca won the Champion Hurdle and while his trainer Colm Murphy has no Festival runners this year, the yard is having a fine spell of success.

Zanoosh has won three on the bounce, with promise of more to come, and Savante was an easy winner of a handicap chase at Navan last weekend, having just missed out on a big pot at the Dublin Racing Festival.

Goraibhmaithagat is another rising star in the Murphy camp and has been put in as the early favourite for Sunday’s €100,000 Bar 1 Betting Leinster National at Naas.

A winner at this track just two weeks ago, the six-year-old is only in his novice season and faces a stiff test on Sunday, up in distance to three miles and taking on 15 rivals, most of whom have far more chasing experience.

“He looks to be in great order,” Murphy told The Irish Field on Friday afternoon. “He seems to go on the soft ground so we’re taking our chance.”

Goraibhmaithagat lost ground at a few of his fences on his most recent start, which is a bit of a concern now that he steps into deeper waters on Sunday.

“I was disappointed with how he jumped the last day and he will have to jump an awful lot better on Sunday,” Murphy said. “In fairness, up to then his jumping had been good and I’m not sure why he didn’t get his act together last time out. He has popped over a couple of fences since then, and not a bother on him.”

Goraibhmaithagat was raised 7lb for his most recent win, a half-length success, though he and runner-up Magic McColgan finished well clear of the others. It seems fair enough.

Murphy commented: “Ah, sure we will always give out about it. If we’d got 8lb then we would have been happy to get seven. And when he got seven, we think he should only have got six.” The trainer is hopeful that the step up in trip to three miles will bring about a bit more improvement to offset the extra weight. Goraibhmaithagat is a full-brother to Cadatharla, who won two races for Murphy, and he is a half-brother to Lovely Hurling, also twice a winner for Murphy and the McManus family who bred them all.

“Cadatharla won over further than three miles so I certainly hope his brother will as well, though we won’t know until Sunday.”

Goraibhmaithagat is one of five J.P. McManus-owned runners in the Leinster National but the owner’s retained rider Mark Walsh stays with Colm Murphy’s charge.

The McManus quintet also includes the James Motherway-trained Uhavemeinstitches who was among the favourites for the Kim Muir at Cheltenham in recent weeks. The mare, who is out of the trainer’s Irish National winner Bluesea Cracker, will be ridden at Naas by Simon Torrens, who has won on her before.

Murphy also confirmed that Zanoosh is on course for the Grade 3 Shannon Spray Novice Hurdle at Limerick next Thursday. “We don’t do much with her at home but she seems to be in great order. All going well, a race at Fairyhouse is in the back of my mind for her.”