Lots of racing action is in store across the Easter Weekend with the Scottish Sprint Cup at Musselburgh amongst Saturday's highlights, while Fairyhouse are building towards the Irish Grand National on Monday.
There are seven meetings across the UK and Ireland on Saturday, including Musselburgh, Fairyhouse and the Challenger Series finals day at Haydock, while six more make up the Easter Sunday programme, headlined by the Grade 1 WilllowWarm Gold Cup (4.55) at Fairyhouse – a contest won last season by recent Cheltenham Festival kingpin Galopin Des Champs no less!
Mighty Potter tasted defeat last month in the Cotswolds and will be hoping to banish that memory now.
Follow all the UK and Irish racing action right across the Bank Holiday weekend with the bet365 live Sports Streaming Service as we look ahead to some of the key races.
Spirit Mixer bids for Queen's Cup glory
There is plenty of good racing from Scotland on Saturday and the Queen's Cup (3.35) is the central offering with more than £51k on offer to the winner in the 1m6f heritage handicap.
A field of 14 were declared and they include early 4/1 favourite Spirit Mixer for Andrew Balding, with Callum Hutchinson claiming a handy 5lb in the saddle. The Frankel gelding won three times in the early part of last season and was last spotted finishing close-up in the bet365 Trophy at Newmarket in July over this trip under this pilot. They race from the same mark now.
The Keith Dalgleish-trained Good Show (5/1) makes his handicap bow in receipt of weight from the field, while last-time-out Pontefract scorer Wise Eagle (13/2) could have more to give on his comeback for Adam Nicholl.
Top jumps trainers Paul Nicholls and Harry Fry are having a cut at this prize with Pleasant Man (10/1) and Metier (9/1) respectively, while Jim Goldie's veteran Euchen Glen (14/1) would be dangerous to dismiss if he's fully tuned up on his first start of the season.
Sprint Cup looks wide open
The Scottish Sprint Cup (3.00) is amongst the features at Musselburgh on Saturday afternoon and one of the highlights on ITV Racing's offering.
The five-furlong handicap contest has attracted a field of 14 contenders including last year's winner Zarzyni (6/1) for trainer David Barron with Ben Curtis on board. He's 2lb below his winning mark from 12 months ago and has not tasted success since. He also comes into this title defence without the benefit of a prep-run, in stark contrast to last spring.
Oisin Murphy has been in good tune this week and he's on board 11/2 hope Came From The Dark for the Ed Walker team. He came close in a Group 3 two seasons ago and has dropped to a workable mark ahead of this seasonal bow.
The likes of Catch Cunningham at 15/2 for Kevin Ryan, Makanah (6/1) for Julie Camacho and Vintage Clarets at 13/2 for Richard Fahey all have their claims in a wide open renewal.
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Quartet set for Market Rasen showdown
Some good Easter Sunday jumps fare in Britain comes from Market Rasen where they stage a Class 3 Novices' Limited Handicap Chase (4.29) as their feature.
A quartet of contenders have engaged and they include Jay Jay Reilly for Dan and Harry Skelton as he takes a drop in grade after contesting a Grade 2 at Kempton in February. His earlier win at the Sunbury track was a solid piece of form and he's got strong claims here despite top-weight.
Stormin Crossgales won nicely on fencing bow at Wincanton in November for trainer Tom George and is probably better than he showed at Kempton last month on his only run since.
The field is completed by last month's Leicester scorer Great Heart'jac, now 2-3 over fences, for Fergal O'Brien and the Sam Drinkwater-trained Ballybreeze, and it should prove a very competitive contest.
Honeysuckle race attracts stellar line-up
That's not the only top-level action from Fairyhouse on Sunday as they also boast the Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle (2.35), the 2m4½f event renamed in honours of the recently retired Cheltenham Festival queen Honeysuckle, a three-time winner of the Grade 1 Hatton's Grace Hurdle at this track.
This has attracted a deep field of 16 mares and the forecast market leader is Ashroe Diamond for Willie Mullins, winner of a soft-ground Grade 3 over two-furlongs shorter here in January.
She's a potential improver, but so too are her stablemates Hauturiere and Lot Of Joy, while Gordon Elliott will be hoping Harmonya Maker can get back to the promise she showed earlier in the season.
Princess Zoe showed lots of promise when fourth in the Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham last month, but arguably no horse in that race was more unlucky than the runner-up, the Henry De Bromhead-trained Magical Zoe.
She finished with a flourish after a nightmare trip in the home straight and has to be considered a key player here on that evidence.
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