EVEN though she must concede weight to all nine of her rivals, Lady Zephyr (1.40) should have little difficulty in capturing Ludlow's EBF Mares' Only Novices' Hurdle.

Lady Zephyr's relentless galloping style has already yielded three victories from five starts so far this season, but it was in defeat at Sandown 19 days ago that the six-year-old showed just what a good mare she has become.

Taking on male counterparts at a far higher level than she faces today, Lady Zephyr finished a close-up third on that occasion to a couple of high-class performers, Ladalko and No Refuge.

It was a superb and much-improved effort by Carl Llewellyn's partner, a very progressive individual who provided she reproduces that level of form need not be at her best in order to maintain an already money-spinning campaign.

The feature event on the card, the £20,000 Tanners Wines Handicap Chase, is not an easy event to get to grips with because in the line-up there are numerous course and distance specialists in with a decent shout.

With eight of the ten runners have won at the track in the past, the betting is bound to be wide-open and therefore Long Walk (2.10) is nothing more than a tentative selection for the three-mile test.

Henry Daly's gelding has to date been operating in novices' company, a sphere in which he's bagged a brace of races, both at this afternoon's venue. As far as the debit column reads, naturally supporters of Long Walk will be taking a risk on the state of his fitness as he's been out of action for 258 days.

When assessing the pros and cons of such a wager it's always worth trying to get inside the head of the trainer, and generally speaking Daly likes to get plenty of work into his horses prior to letting them loose on the course.

Bearing this mind, hopefully Long Walk will be straight enough to make the frame, and with luck stick his head in front where it counts.

In the following Tanners Champagne Handicap Chase, Daly and his jockey, Richard Johnson, might easily complete a double if Saafend Rocket (2.40) stays upright.

Saafend Rocket was taking on two in-form opponents, Colliers Court and Waterspray, when grabbing third spot over course and distance earlier this month. He didn't exactly help his cause with quite a serious mistake at the seventh fence, which combined with a tendency to jump to the left sealed the fate of connections long before the home straight came into view.

It is a fact that Saafend Rocket has yet to show the same level of ability over fences, compared to his rock-solid hurdles' form, however given a slightly slicker approach to the bigger obstacles, there is time yet to prove his versatility.

There's right old-fashioned cavalry charge for the 17-runner Cava Handicap Hurdle, a two-miler in which Arjaypear (3.10) is fancied to overcome a 15-month absence from duty.

Dai Burchell's five-year-old hasn't got a great deal to beat in an event dominated by quantity, rather than quality. He also seems to go well fresh, which has to be a major plus in the light of his lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Only a gnat's whisker divided Coranglais (12.30) and Ligne d'Eau when the pair flashed by the winning post virtually in unison at Lingfield.

Ligne d'Eau nicked the verdict in the photo, but that might not have been the case had Coranglais met significant interference at the furlong pole. In addition, Milton Bradley's sprinter has become something of a handicap "good thing", seeing as he's plunged no less than 27lbs down the official ratings since the beginning of 2004.

l Kingsgate Bay maintained the challenge of Janus (Colin Woods) near the head of the Racing Post Naps competition when yesterday's best bet obliged at odds of 5-2.

l Best Mate will face a maximum of seven rivals when he bids for back-to-back victories in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown next Tuesday. Henrietta Knight's nine-year-old is the only British-trained horse among the eight five-day declarations.

Lexus Chase betting: 4-7 Best Mate, 5-2 Beef Or Salmon, 10-1 Pizarro, Harbour Pilot, 14-1 Rule Supreme, 25-1 Cloudy Bays, 66-1 Barrow Drive

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