THE Cheltenham Festival might be light on stories of small Irish yards taking aim at the big guns, but the Betfair Imperial Cup (2.25) at Sandown today certainly has one.

It would be a smashing result if Co Kilkenny-based trainer David O’Brien managed to take out the £100,000 pre-Cheltenham highlight with Minx Tiara – a highly likeable five-time winner who was bought when broken and riding for just €1,000 as a three-year-old at Goresbridge.

The mount of Sean Flanagan, she heads to Sandown on the back of two fine efforts in defeat at Leopardstown, finishing fourth in a competitive Christmas Festival handicap hurdle and second at the Dublin Racing Festival in the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Paddy Mullins Mares Handicap Hurdle.

Minx Tiara will be O’Brien’s first runner at Sandown and is out to become only the third Irish-trained Imperial Cup winner this century after the Peter Fahey-trained Suprise Package two years ago and Victram for Ado McGuinness in 2006.

“She’s come out of her run at the Dublin Racing Festival very well and seems in great form,” said O’Brien. “The prize money is so good at Sandown and the owners are mad keen for a day out – they are a great bunch of lads and have had a lot of fun over the years. She is nine now and there might not be that many more chances to travel with her.

“Hopefully this is a good opportunity for her while she is in such good form. I thought she was well-handicapped although I am a little bit worried that the English handicapper has given her an extra 9lb compared to her mark in Ireland and she is up 11lb overall for her run at Leopardstown.

“She always runs her race and although she hasn’t won now for a couple of years, she keeps picking up good prize money on the way. This season we have stuck to hurdles with her as she is better handicapped over hurdles, I think.

“Sean and Danny [Mullins], who have both ridden her, said with the form she is in at the moment, there could be a nice prize in her. Hopefully she has an each-way chance and that is why we are aiming at Sandown. I only keep around 15 horses in training, which include some point-to-pointers.”

Murtagh raider

Elsewhere in Britain today, Johnny Murtagh is having a crack at the £50,000 BetMGM Lincoln Trial Handicap (3.15) at Wolverhampton with Final Voyage, who landed last year’s All Weather Vase Mile Handicap at Lingfield Park on Good Friday and also struck last time out at Dundalk.

Murtagh said: “Final Voyage came out of his last race really well. He likes the all-weather and this looks a nice race to go for. If he was to win, he might be able to sneak into the mile race on Finals Day.

“The extended mile this weekend is my only concern. Initially, I felt he was a seven-furlong horse, but he is much more settled this year. Wolverhampton is a tight track, whereas Dundalk has a long straight and he got the mile well there last time, so that gives him a chance of getting the trip.

“William Buick’s agent Tony Hind phoned me after he saw the entries and was keen for him to ride the horse. William has not ridden a winner for me yet, so it would be nice to do that on Saturday.”