PROVIDED it passes a 7.30am inspection today, Navan will be the centre of the National Hunt universe this afternoon by virtue of being the only jumps show in town during the cold snap that has wreaked havoc over the past week.

Our hopes of a January dust-up between El Fabiolo and Jonbon at Ascot today in the Clarence House Chase have gone by the wayside due to a frozen track, and the ongoing weather woes means Thurles is now properly catapulted into the spotlight with what should be a highly informative Sunday card.

How good it is to see a quality renewal of the Grade 2 Horse & Jockey Hotel Chase (1.35), as Allaho bids to return to winning ways after defeat in the King George three and a half weeks ago.

Now a 10-year-old, he arguably lost some of his invincible aura when safely held in third at Kempton and defeat here could spell serious trouble for his Ryanair Chase supporters. It was in this race last year that an ageing Chacun Pour Soi proved unable to recover from a Christmas defeat when asked to get back on track here. Connections will be desperate to avoid a similar downward trend.

On the opposite side of the coin, the production of a big performance to beat quality sorts Appreciate It, Capodanno, French Dynamite and Stattler might well see his Ryanair odds tighten from their current range of 2/1 to 3/1. In short, this has the feeling of a big afternoon at the office for Cheveley Park’s top-drawer talent.

Down in trip

Paul Townend is adamant the dual Cheltenham Festival hero is still the one to beat in tomorrow’s feature, and has put his Kempton defeat down to a lack of stamina over three miles. Tomorrow’s assignment comes over half a mile shorter.

“Willie Mullins has four of the six runners here,” said Townend, speaking in his Ladbrokes-sponsored blog. “Allaho ran a cracker at Kempton and looked like the winner jumping the last in the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase. He just got outstayed on the day, but he ran a beautiful race. It is a track he likes, the conditions of the race will suit him, and he came out of Kempton really well. On ratings, he will take a lot of beating.

Disappointing

“He’s not getting any younger, but he is still running to a very high level of form and he is the one they all have to beat. It looks like Appreciate It is stepping up to the mark this year after being a little disappointing last year and he will give us plenty to think about.”

If it manages to pass a 2pm inspection today, Lingfield is also set to host a strong card tomorrow, including the £165,000 Fitzdares Fleur De Lys Chase (3.00). Dual Grade 1 winner Protektorat gives weight to all of his five rivals, including 2022 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase scorer L’Homme Presse, who has been absent since unseating at the final fence in last season’s King George. His return could well point to another interesting strand in the Gold Cup picture, if he’s back at the top of his game.

All in all, National Hunt action might be thin on the ground this weekend, but the pick of what we’re promised ought to provide plenty of clues for the remainder of the season. Over to you, Allaho and co.