Joseph O'Brien: Darasso will take advantage if others are off their game

Fakir the pick of my pair

13:10 - Fakir and Slige Dala

We set Fakir a tough task by running him in the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown's Christmas meeting and he fell at around the halfway mark. He was none the worst for that tumble and we've lowered his sights here. We feel he is fairly handicapped and hopefully he can show that here.

Slige Dala is another that I don't feel we've seen the best of over fences just yet, but he'll need to brush up his jumping if he is to fulfil his promise.

Consistent and can get involved

13:40 - Darasso

Darasso has already won three races this season including a Grade 2 hurdle. He carries a penalty for that success in this, but if any of the others are off their game, he'll be there to take advantage. He is a model of consistency and while he would prefer a longer trip, he should still be well capable of getting involved.

We'd like to see him relax better

14:10 - Champion Green

Champion Green showed promise in his first two starts over hurdles, but had an unfortunate experience last time when his saddle slipped and Mark Walsh pulled him up. He has been racing quite freely over hurdles, so we'd ideally like to see him relax a bit better here to give himself the chance to show his best in the closing stages. There should be more to come from him and we're looking forward to seeing how he gets on.

Schooling has been good

14:40 - Faron

Faron showed promise without winning on the Flat and is the type that should be suited by hurdling. His schooling has been good, so hopefully he can translate that to the track and made a positive start to his hurdling career.