AS you’d expect, Cheltenham welcomes some high-class National Hunt performers back to Prestbury Park this weekend, but it also sees the unusual instance of one of Ireland’s top Group 1-winning flat jockeys being in action on today’s card.

Confirmation that Billy Lee would be riding at Cheltenham certainly caught the eye after Thursday’s declaration stage. He is set to ride Seo Linn in the Listed Karndean Designflooring Mares’ Open National Hunt Flat Race (4.00) for one of his biggest supporters, Paddy Twomey.

This is not the Co Limerick native’s first ride in the Cotswolds. In fact, it will be the fourth time Lee has lined up at Cheltenham. The former listed-winning rider over jumps rode against names such as Mark Walsh, Denis O’Regan, Sam Curling and Tom Malone in a conditional jockeys’ handicap hurdle at this meeting back in 2005, and finished in mid-field in the 2008 Coral Cup on Grade 3 winner Baltiman.

His most recent mount at Cheltenham came in the 2011 Triumph Hurdle when unseated two flights from home on the Tommy Stack-trained Mister Carter, who remains Lee’s last National Hunt winner in a Limerick maiden hurdle back in December 2010. The multiple Group 1-winning jockey hasn’t had a National Hunt ride since March 2014.

Seo Linn is an intriguing first Cheltenham runner for Twomey. An impressive bumper winner at Ballinrobe in August, she crosses the Irish Sea with the benefit of three runs, having finished fourth in the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mucklemeg Mares Bumper at Gowran when last seen.

The early market leader for today’s contest is the Willie Mullins-trained Korinthia, who has won both of her bumper outings at Wexford and Limerick under Patrick Mullins.