Adrian Maguire reports Golden Kite "extremely well" as the veteran aims to regain his crown in Sunday's Ladbrokes Munster National at Limerick.
Having spent the best part of a year on the sidelines with injury, the 10-year-old made the perfect return when winning over hurdles at Galway a month ago.
He reverts to the larger obstacles on the same mark off which he won this prestigious prize two years ago, and his trainer is confident of a bold show.
"He's very well and we're hoping for a big run," said Maguire.
"I was hoping he'd run a big race the last day, but I was surprised with how he handled the ground.
"It's well documented he likes good, quick ground, but then he won on soft in Galway, so we'll see.
"We've kept this race in mind for him since last season, he's extremely well and we're looking forward to him running."
Liberty Counsel is an interesting contender for County Westmeath handler Dot Love.
The nine-year-old mare won comfortably on her latest start over fences at Kilbeggan and warmed up for this weekend's race with a fair third over hurdles at Gowran Park.
Love's assistant, Ciaran Murphy, said: "The ground wouldn't be ideal for her but she ran a cracker over hurdles the last day and she'll be better back over fences.
"We've always been looking to have a crack at a big pot with her and she gets into this race on a nice weight with 10st 9lb.
"We'd prefer better ground but if she handles it all, you'd hope she'll be competitive."
