By approximately 3.50pm on Thursday, Josef Vana may well be regretting his decision not to extend his European Crystal Cup adventures beyond mainland Europe, as a strong challenge from Gavin Cromwell in the Mongey Communications La Touche Cup could readily close the gap or even supersede the leading trainer positions.

Cromwell’s Vanillier and Peaches And Cream are two of the 16 runners declared, and Vanillier has an outstanding chance provided his Aintree exertions have not left their mark. Keith Donoghue, who is 2-2 from cross country rides in Crystal Cup contests on Stumptown at Cheltenham, takes the ride in Stumptown’s absence. A win for Vanillier with a start for Peaches And Cream would put Cromwell within a point of Vana, with every incentive to travel to Lion d’Angers on May 29.

Vanillier is the class horse in the race, alongside Martin Brassil’s Desertmore House, whose form figures on the face of it look less than inspiring. However, he’s been competing in illustrious company this term, and this drop in class could be the tonic required to rediscover the winning thread, absent since the Kerry National in September 2023.

Stealthy Tom, Busseltown and The Goffer make up the weight of the opposition. Stealthy Tom is 13lb better in than when a well-beaten third to Vanillier here in February, and trainer Enda Bolger is a banks specialist, but that moniker can also be lent to several other trainers in this field. Stealthy Tom is no Risk of Thunder, three time winner of this race 20 years ago.

Busseltown can run better than his performance at Cheltenham suggests, where he was going backwards from mid-division at the business end of the race and was pulled up.

Eight year old The Goffer has been growing his banks experience this winter with runs here, at Cheltenham, and most recently at Aintree, where he was third to Gentleman de Mee in the Randox Topham Chase. He has ground to make up on Vanillier even so.

The remainder look exposed in this company, albeit a majority already know their way round the 4m 1f course. Denis Murphy fields 4 of which the most interesting is Fralimonto Bilbery, but he, like Richard o’Keefe’s Transprint, ran in Tuesday’s Kildare Hunt Ladies Cup, so may be withdrawn if their exertions have taken a toll.

Peter Maher has left in Jet Fighter and Subset, who both by rights should be running in a lower class renewal of this genre.

Which leaves Tony Martin’s Read To Return, Benny the Duke and 2023 winner Vital Island. This race has been won by a 15 year old, so at 13, age needn’t be a barrier to the last of these necessarily. It’s difficult to make a case for Benny The Duke on current form, and he may be here for the craic.

One opposes Tony Martin at one’s peril, but even that allowing, there are more obvious candidates to have come from this yard, and the market may give as good an indication as any to his chance.