Il Etait Temps, unquestionably the best two-mile chaser of last season, returns to action on Thursday seeking to defend his title in the Clonmel Oil Chase.

Four have been declared for the feature race of the season at Clonmel, a Grade 2 over two miles, five furlongs. Willie Mullins has dominated 10 of the last 13 renewals, including the last four consecutively.

Twelve months ago, Il Etait Temps prevailed at Powerstown Park at the start of a season that yielded three Grade 1s, including the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham and the William Hill Champion Chase at Punchestown by wide margins.

Should he prove successful again, Il Etait Temps will join just two horses to have won the Clonmel Oil Chase on more than one occasion.

The last to double up in the race was Tranquil Lake in 2011 and before that the mighty Dorans Pride won it four times from 1997 to 2000.

Kappa Jy Pike, also trained by Willie Mullins, is next highest on ratings and was a Grade 1 runner-up and Grade 3 winner last season.

The field is completed by Blaze The Way, a Grade 3 winner at Cheltenham last term for trainer Margaret Mullins, and the mare Herja, from the Oldtown, County Dublin stable of Mrs Frankie Griffin, third in the Racing Post Chase at Down Royal last weekend.

“It’s a tried and tested stepping stone from last season and Willie and the team are very happy with him,” said Ross Doyle, racing manager to Barnane Stud, owners of Il Etait Temps.

“Clonmel is somewhere he knows well and it’s a route that has worked in the past and we’re looking forward to getting him back in action.

“We’ll leave race-to-race plans to Willie and the team, and they are the ones who know him inside out. We’ll see how Clonmel goes and go from there, but you would hope you end the season back at Cheltenham having a crack at retaining his crown in March, I think that would be the dream come true.

“What he has achieved is fantastic, the fact he’s in Closutton and holding his own among all those other magnificent horses is great and his own track record is brilliant. We just hope all can carry on going to plan and he keeps coming home sound which is most important to all involved.”

Another of Closutton’s Cheltenham Festival scorers will return in the supporting T.A. Morris Memorial Irish EBF Mares Chase where Dinoblue is the standout among five for the listed event, ridden for the first time by Harry Cobden.

CLICK HERE FOR DECLARED RUNNERS FOR THE CLONMEL OIL CHASE ON THURSDAY