Richard Forristal
Predictably, the stamp of our indomitable champion trainer Willie Mullins is all over the race, with Felix Yonger heading ante-post lists at 9/4, with Champagne Fever (4/1) and Mozoltov (9/1) his other potential big players.
Paul Nolan's Defy Logic is the layers' second best at 5/2, with Trifolium, Don Cossack, Mallowney and Djakadam all capable of making their presence felt.
Depending on what Mullins runs, the Arkle could be crucial in terms of deciphering some of the riddles that the Carlow-based juggernaut has thrown up.
Defy Logic was no match for Felix Yonger at Punchestown in November, but he capitalised on Champagne Fever's blunder at Leopardstown on St Stephen's Day, when Trifolium took second, having chased home Felix Yonger at Navan.
Felix Yonger throttled White Star Line over two-and-a-half miles on his Punchestown fencing debut last May, and only Simonsig beat him over a furlong further (albeit over hurdles) at Cheltenham in March 2012.
MINIMUM
Come St Stephen's Day, Mullins opted to send him to Limerick for a Grade Two over two-four, leaving Champagne Fever to tackle the Grade One over the minimum trip in south Co Dublin.
Even now, it's hard to know the full extent of what can be gleaned from either race.
In deep ground at Limerick, Felix Yonger was thwarted by his less illustrious stablemate The Paparazzi Kid -- also engaged on Sunday -- when his fencing lacked its usual fluency. He eventually chased down the winner on the run to the line, but it was a puzzling defeat that raised more questions than answers.
The big race at Leopardstown was equally inconclusive, as, after going toe to toe with Defy Logic, Champagne Fever looked in command until the lights went out following that desperate mistake at the second-last.
Having suffered similar shock defeats in each of the previous two seasons en route to glory over two miles at Cheltenham, most of his fans would have been relatively unperturbed.
Mullins' reaction, though, was significant, as he suggested he'd consider stepping the gangly grey back up in trip, with the Grade One Dr PJ Moriarty on February 9 an obvious target.
In the same breath, he noted the renewed potency of Felix Yonger's two-mile form-lines, prompting you to conclude that events that unfolded within 10 minutes of each other had clarified things in his head.
The various permutations will have been busily whirring round inside there ever since, but you wonder if his deliberations aren't slightly less vexing than they might have been before.
Perhaps crucially, for the first time ever the Jewson Novices' Chase over the intermediate trip has Grade One status this year, the first Festival race to be elevated to the highest echelon since 2008.
While the debate over the Festival's evolution and whether or not the Jewson deserves such a promotion is for another day, that it is now a Grade One is inevitably going to make it a more appealing option. When Mullins won it with Sir Des Champs in 2012, it was the poor relation.
With its newly-enhanced status, though, it will be less of a consolation prize. The entries for Cheltenham's three novice chase majors will be unveiled on Thursday, and Champagne Fever could well be put in all three.
Still, at this stage of the campaign, Mullins might not be keen to ask him to stretch for the opposite extreme of the RSA's extended three miles.
A year ago, you suspect the Closutton maestro wouldn't have willingly given the Jewson a second thought for a heavyweight like Champagne Fever.
That he might now does nothing to dispel the notion that the Arkle or RSA could be robbed of a marquee name, but it will surely make his life a mite easier. We await Friday's morning's declarations with interest.
Correct Sizing - Dont shoot the messenger ! Seems to do better in Hurdles though.