Outlook's sunny for Richie

Richie McLernon can justify his reputation as one of the rising stars of jump racing by guiding Sunnyhillboy to victory in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham tomorrow.

Champion jockey Tony McCoy usually rides the Jonjo O'Neill-trained gelding for leading owner JP McManus but he is set to partner Tom Taaffe's Finger Onthe Pulse instead in the extended 2m4f chase.

McLernon is familiar, though, with Sunnyhillboy having finished a cracking second to Great Endeavour on the seven-year-old's final outing last season in the Byrne Group Plate Handicap Chase at the Festival meeting.

David Pipe's Great Endeavour reopposes tomorrow on 2lb worse terms.

Sunnyhillboy (2.35pm), who has two wins from six starts over fences, should also get the ground he favours with the course currently riding good, good to soft in places.

The Paddy Power Gold Cup revolves around the Nicky Henderson-trained Long Run, the likely favourite, who looked a superstar in the making on his first two runs in Britain, before finding Weapon's Amnesty too good in the RSA Chase at the Festival.

Oddly, Great Endeavour's trainer thinks Sam Waley-Cohen's mount looks "a certainty" but Long Run is a skinny price at 100-30 with Paddy Power for a horse that has never faced such a big field, even if he appears to be the form contender in the race.

Meanwhile, connections of Diamond Harry are keen to see if Kauto Star will take his chance in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury on 27 November.