By Cornelius Lysaght BBC racing correspondent

The Cheltenham Festival really gets going with an outstanding Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle at 1515 GMT, featuring a champion, an ex-dual champion and a brilliant young pretender.

It is quite likely the race of the week as last year's winner Brave Inca faces his predecessor Hardy Eustace and up-and-coming Detroit City.

Hardy Eustace and Brave Inca battled it out in Ireland in January

Brave Inca's rider Ruby Walsh, replacing Tony McCoy who is contracted to partner fourth favourite Straw Bear, insists there is nothing to split the top three in the betting.

"There's probably not a bad jump between them," he told the Racing Post. "I wouldn't have the mortgage on any of them, and you could make a case for and against all the fancied horses."

Five-year-old Detroit City has beaten Hardy Eustace this season - at Cheltenham in December- while Hardy Eustace (the champion hurdler in '04 and '05) beat Brave Inca in their native Ireland in January.

Although horses aged five have a poor record in the race, grey-coloured Detroit City has, as they say, done nothing much wrong this season. All the vibes from his trainer Philip Hobbs have been positive and will be hard to beat.

ALSO LOOK OUT FOR: There is plenty of confidence in Ireland about De Valira in the Anglo Bank Supreme Novices Hurdle (1400).

The favourite Fair Along, also trained by Philip Hobbs, has My Way To Solzen and Don't Push It to beat in the Irish Independent Arkle Chase (1435).

Keep up-to-date with all the action from Champion Hurdle day on Tuesday to the Gold Cup on Friday.