A total of 897 entries were revealed for the 10 Cheltenham Festival handicaps, of which there was a record 322 Irish-trained.

As usual, the Coral Cup attracted the highest number of entries, with 127 put forward, while the Grand Annual, switched to an earlier slot on Friday, carried the lowest number at 58.

Irish-trained horses won five of the 10 handicaps last season, following on from seven victories the year before. There will now be an anxious wait for owners and trainers until Wednesday when the weights are revealed for all 10 races.

The BHA handicapping team record their own ratings of Irish horses and do not base their assessment on their Turf Club ratings.

Willie Mullins said this week that he expects to have a stronger team for the handicap races and his Uradel has already attracted ante-post support. The Luke McMahon-owned gelding he has been given entries in the Coral Cup, County Hurdle and Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle. Elsewhere Pat Kelly’s Mall Dini, fifth and second in the previous two renewals of the Kim Muir Challenge Cup, has only been entered into the Ultima Handicap Chase this year.

Gordon Elliott has his usual strong entry in the Martin Pipe, with 26 entries in all, headed by Dallas Des Pictons, a winner at the Dublin Racing Festival, who also has a Coral Cup entry. However, Glenloe, runner-up in the Pertemps and early favourite for the Kim Muir, wasn’t among Elliott’s entries.

Band Of Outlaws is among five Joseph O’Brien-trained entries for the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Fred Winter).

Other Irish-trained entries of note were Elliott’s Blow By Blow (Kim Muir and Ultima), Paul Nolan’s Discorama (Close Brothers and Ultima) and Willie Mullins’s Duc Des Genievres (Close Brothers).