Hopes are high Aetna can provide Joseph O'Brien with his first winner of the Flat campaign in the feature event at Cork on Easter Monday.
O'Brien was conspicuous by his absence on the opening day of the season at the Curragh last weekend, with his father Aidan admitting the dual champion jockey was struggling with his weight.
The fact O'Brien jnr rode over hurdles for the first time on the same afternoon led many to question his long-term future on the level, but he was back in Flat action at Cork on Saturday and returns to the Mallow track to take two rides for the Easterby team tomorrow.
The main attraction is the Cork Stakes, in which O'Brien partners the smart mare Aetna, who makes her first appearance since an impressive display in the Wentworth Stakes at Doncaster last November.
With her favoured conditions set to prevail, David Easterby, assistant to his father, Mick, feels the five-year-old is poised to make a winning return.
He said: "We're all really looking forward to it.
"We decided to target this race when we missed last weekend's meeting at Doncaster because the ground was too quick.
"The ground will be soft enough for her and she's the top-rated horse in the race, so it looks a good opportunity, and I don't think we could have a much better jockey than Joseph O'Brien in the saddle.
"He rode for us when he was over at the Western meeting at Ayr, we're very happy to have him and maybe he's got a point to prove riding back on the Flat."
Aetna faces six rivals over six furlongs in the Listed event, with John Joseph Murphy's Big Time and the Eddie Lynam-trained Gathering Power among her rivals.
Four unraced two-year-olds go to post for the opening Irish Stallion Farms European Breeders Fund Fillies Maiden.
The rest of the card is made up by three hunter chases and two bumpers.
