Tranquil Sea is a great ride to have but Andrew McNamara believes Paul Nicholls' Poquelin will take a lot of beating in Ryanair Chase.
McNamara is well acquainted with Tranquil Sea after riding him in all but three of his 18 starts and although he did not partner the eight-year-old in his final workout on Saturday he is confident Edward O'Grady has him ready for Thursday's feature.
"All's very well with Tranquil Sea. He did a piece of work yesterday. I didn't ride him but I saw him and he was in great form," McNamara said.
On the day when many of the Irish Cheltenham hopes worked at Leoaprdstown, Tranquil Sea was seen landing the Newlands Chase at the Foxrock venue, but McNamara is not unduly worried about having a race so close to the Festival.
"His run at Leopardstown last time wasn't too hard a race before Cheltenham," he went on. "He did it fairly well so we were happy enough with him that day.
"He's a lovely horse and it's a great ride to have so I'm very much looking forward to it."
Tranquil Sea tasted success at Cheltenham in November when he claimed the Paddy Power Gold Cup. He defeated Poquelin that day but McNamara is anticipating a better run from Nicholls' charge this time.
"I don't think Poquelin was quite himself that day in the Paddy Power. For whatever reason, he didn't travel very well," McNamara told At The Races.
"I think Poquelin was much better the next time in the Boylesports. We were getting 2lb off him in the Paddy Power but we beat him over four lengths."