With just five weeks to go, the results are in for most of the Cheltenham Festival 2022 trials.
The Dublin Racing Festival, at the weekend, saw Willie Mullins' horses win seven of the highly competitive races.
Six of them were Grade 1 events – the highest level of the sport – and more than €750,000 was banked.
Two of the stable's winners, Galopin Des Champs and Facile Vega, are hot favourites to follow-up at Cheltenham next month.
The first-named horse won there 12 months ago and helped Mullins to an eighth trainers' title during the big week.
It concluded on Gold Cup day, the feature race he finally won in 2019 with Al Boum Photo, who galloped to glory in 2020 too.
On last year's card, Mullins saddled a one-two in the first running of the Mares' Chase, when Colreevy outpointed Elimay by half-a-length.
And it is the latter who races to join Mullins' formidable 2022 squad at Naas on Saturday.
The same Cheltenham contest is on the agenda for the JP McManus-owned grey.
Mullins, the most successful trainer in the history of the Festival with 78 winners, already has the ante-post favourite Concertista.
Like Elimay, she finished runner-up at the most recent racing extravaganza in March, but has enjoyed the switch to chasing.
Get the latest Cheltenham Festival ante-post odds with Grovesnor Sport
The pair could go head-to-head and meet the Gordon Elliott-trained Mount Ida on the famous National Hunt circuit.
Elimay lost out to that rival when last seen at Fairyhouse on New Year's Day – but is long odds to resume winning ways this weekend.
At 9-2 in the sponsors' ante-post Mares' Chase market, a second victory in the Listed BBA Ireland Limited Opera Hat Mares Chase would secure her place on the lorry to Prestbury Park.
“Elimay is in great form,” Mullins said via irishracing.com.
“This looks a really nice opportunity to get her back to winning ways. Court Maid is quite closely matched to her in ratings but doesn’t appear to be in the form she was.
"So hopefully Elimay can get her head in front and it should be a perfect launchpad back to Cheltenham."
Bookmakers William Hill go 8-15 Mullins will scoop a ninth trainers' title at the fixture, which begins on March 15.
In the betting for the top jockey award, his main jockey Paul Townend heads the firm's market at 11-10.
