Jasmin De Vaux clashes with The Yellow Clay in a Sunday with something for every jumps fan

With a new year comes new opportunities, and Ireland's brightest novice hurdlers will battle it out on Sunday to claim the honour of becoming the first Grade 1 winner of 2025 in the Lawlor's of Naas Novice Hurdle (1.55), provided the meeting survives a 7.30am inspection due to the threat of snow.

The chance to start the year on a high is far from the only distinction these contenders will vie for, as they will also be in line to join an impressive winning roster of this 2m4f contest while highlighting their credentials for the Cheltenham Festival in March.

For Sunday's warm favourite Jasmin De Vaux, this will be a tried-and-tested route, having won at Naas last season prior to landing the Champion Bumper. Yet while he made a convincing enough start over obstacles at Navan last month, his jumping will need to vastly improve to beat this stronger field.