THE second day of the Christmas Festival is set to play host to perhaps the most exciting and intriguing chaser in the country with Willie Mullins indicating that Chacun Pour Soi will begin his season in the Grade 1 Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase.

In just two starts over fences last season Chacun Pour Soi reached a rating of 167 which is an accurate illustration of the prodigious potential that this seven-year-old has shown. The fact that he will be lining up on Friday without the benefit of a previous run this season isn’t of any great concern as he returned from three years off to run out a 31-length winner of a beginners’ chase at Naas in March.

At the time it mightn’t have looked like the strongest of races, but the runner-up from Naas is Portmore Lough and he was good enough to reach the frame in last month’s Troytown Chase off a mark of 131. That alone is noteworthy, but the performance which demonstrated just how high Chacun Pour Soi can go came at Punchestown last May.

Cheltenham winners

On that occasion he was pitted against a field that included a pair of Cheltenham winners in Duc Des Genievres and Defi Du Seuil as well as two other Grade 1 winners. Chacun Pour Soi came through this test with flying colours to defeat Defi Du Seuil by just over four lengths and the latter’s exploits so far this season put that Punchestown effort into perspective.

There is every reason to believe that Chacun Pour Soi could be the horse to end Willie Mullins’ wait for a first Champion Chase victory in March and it will be a major surprise if he were to meet with defeat.

The admirable Simply Ned will be looking to make another successful trip across the Irish Sea but his hopes of winning this race for the third year in a row look slim. Nonetheless, the evergreen 12-year-old can be relied upon to run his usual solid race.

Perhaps the one most likely to chase home the favourite is A Plus Tard who progressed into a high-class novice last season and is sure to have improved from his comeback second behind Ballyoisin in the Fortria Chase.

Later in the day, the Paddy Power Chase presents punters with what seems a typically impenetrable puzzle. Already this term two major staying handicaps have fallen to members of last season’s novice chasing division in Poker Party and Chris’s Dream and perhaps that could be the route to take when searching for the winner of this year’s contest.

Strong stamina

The aforementioned Poker Party would appeal as a major contender on his first outing since landing the Kerry National. The one that could be worth chancing though is the classy Ex Patriot who is put forward in the hope that he could progress for his try over three miles as a chaser.

The former Triumph Hurdle fourth won twice over fences last season with those victories including a valuable two-and-a-quarter-mile handicap at Gowran. His two runs this season have been quite encouraging and he comes here off a very respectable eight-and-a-quarter-length third to Battleoverdoyen in a Grade 2 novice chase at Punchestown.

His stamina looked to hold up in the Punchestown race so it doesn’t seem fanciful to suggest that three miles could be within his reach. Furthermore, he must have every chance of progressing further as this will only be his seventh outing over fences.

The presence of Envoi Allen and Abacadabras would indicate that Gordon Elliott holds the aces in the Grade 1 Paddy Power Future Champion Novice Hurdle which he will be looking to win for the first time.

The pair dominated the conclusion of the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle earlier this month and they set quite a standard, although indications are that Envoi Allen could head to the Lawlor’s Hotel Novice Hurdle at Naas in early January. This could leave Abacadabras facing quite a test with Willie Mullins poised to field several challengers of real note.

In particular Blue Sari would be hugely interesting if he gets the chance to line up. He won his maiden over two and a half miles but a shorter trip wouldn’t be a concern for him. Furthermore, it should be remembered that of all the horses that Envoi Allen has beaten none has given him the sort of test that Blue Sari did when losing out by just three-parts of a length in last season’s Cheltenham bumper.