13:15, William Hill Each Way Extra Handicap Hurdle
Navajo Indy 6/1, 2pts each-way (5 places)
Tom Symonds' 6 year old Navajo Indy steps up in trip for his seasonal opener and it's a move that looked in order after finishing 3rd in the Betfair Hurdle from a long way back on his last start. That was in February but the son of Nathaniel has a decent record when fresh and there's surely still plenty of room in his handicap mark.
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13:50, Holland Cooper 'Chasing Excellence' Novices' Chase
Country Mile 11/4, 2pts win
Not the easiest novice chase to assess as those with the most experience look a little bit exposed. Perhaps Dan Skelton's Country Mile could be the answer. Impressive winner on his only start at Cheltenham over hurdles, he was given a break after finishing 4th in a grade 1 on Boxing Day. He returned to finish 2nd to reopposing Alnilam at Uttoxeter but looked in dire need of the run that day after such an absence. He'll come on plenty for that I expect and a return to this track will bode well. He's a strapping chaser and could take this on his way to better things.
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14:25, Foundation Developments Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle
Rubber Ball 13/2, 2pts each-way (4 places)
Neil King has managed 2 winners and a 3rd from his 5 runners over the past couple of weeks and he runs his likeable 5 year old Rubber Ball here. It's a conditional jockeys handicap and Jack Andrews, one of the more experienced riders here, has been called up for the ride. He beat a now 132 rated Paul Nicholls runner at Newbury in February, suggesting his mark of 128 is exploitable. He may have finished last on his most recent run but that was in a grade 1 at Aintree and the experience won't have done him any harm. This is a nice race in which to make his comeback.
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15:00, Oddschecker Novices' Hurdle
Un Sens A La Vie 15/8, 2pts win
A tricky race to get involved in as many are unexposed. This race was won by Cue Card, Dodging Bullets and Altior back in the day but hasn't thrown up anything in that calibre for a while now. The Twiston-Davies stable have let it be known that they hold Un Sens A La Vie in high regard though and this winning pointer make a very impressive start to hurdling when bolting up at Market Rasen 10 days ago. The stable is going well and if there is a potential top class horse in the race, it's probably him.
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15:35, squareintheair.com Handicap Chase
Calico 3/1, 2pts win
It's fair to say that some of the Skelton's runners are taking a run to get fit this season but Calico won this race last year and is only 4 pounds higher this time around. With the prize money on offer, you'd imagine he will be ready for a repeat and this isn't a harder race than 12 months ago.
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16:10, Champions: Full Gallop Streaming On ITVX Novices' Hurdle
Percy Shelley 11/2, 2pts win
Dalston Lad heads the market here but he did most of his winning last year on soft ground and was well put in his place at the Festival. I don't think this is as strong a race as it first looks so it may be worth taking a chance on James Owen's Percy Shelley. The 6 year old son of Sir Percy ran plenty of times over the flat and came over from France last year with a rating of 100 in that sphere. He didn't win often but ran with credit in decent handicaps for both David O'Meara and his current stable. He couldn't have won much easier on hurdling debut at Uttoxeter over about this trip before claiming a walkover at Ludlow last time out. He's fit and well and could be the answer.
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16:45, Santa - The Visit Amateur Jockeys' Handicap Chase
Kalanisi Flash 13/2, 3pts win
John McConnell's runner Kalinisi Flash looks to have been primed for this. Totally unexposed and one of the better amateur riders has been booked.
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