Richard Johnson has ridden Warren Greatrex's star mare on each of her eight starts over fences to date, a run which has yielded four victories, including a Grade One triumph at last year's Dublin Racing Festival in the Flogas Novice Chase.
La Bague Au Roi makes it four wins in a row for @wgreatrexracing, taking the Grade 1 Flogas Novice Chase in good style under @dickyjohnson77 pic.twitter.com/f4eyjHM89x
— Horse Racing Ireland (@HRIRacing) February 3, 2019
The nine-year-old is all set to head to Ireland for Sunday's 250,000 euros feature, but with the British champion jockey sidelined by injury, connections require a new pilot.
Greatrex told the PA news agency: "After speaking to the owners, we decided to go with an Irish-based jockey who knows the track at Leopardstown really well - and we've decided Mark Walsh is the man for the job.
"She (La Bague Au Roi) is in great form at home and I couldn't be any happier with her. The plan is to leave on Friday morning, to then give her the chance to get settled in.
"Hopefully we'll see a big run from her."
La Bague Au Roi is a best-priced 33-1 for the Irish Gold Cup, with Kemboy and Delta Work disputing favouritism.