LONG DISTANCE raider Stallone (4.10) can make his marathon journey from Malton to Brighton pay off by winning the Montpelier Handicap at Brighton.

The Noel Wilson-trained gelding has disappointed on his last couple of starts, but if you ignore those two below-par efforts and go back to his third placing behind Mephisto and Court Of Appeal in the Queen Mother Cup at York then he must have an outstanding chance.

Stallone's good performance that day has since been highlighted by Mephisto, who went on to score at Glorious Goodwood and again on the Knavesmire a week ago, where he scooped Europe's richest handicap, the Tote Ebor.

The opening Wellington Maiden Stakes at the Sussex venue might well turn out to be a straight fight between the bottom pair in the weights, Daisy Bucket and Phlaunt (2.10).

Each has shown a good deal of promise, although preference is marginally for Phlaunt, who shaped as if six furlongs was a tad on the short side at Haydock on her most recent outing.

Using that evidence Fulke Johnston Houghton's filly will appreciate today's step up in distance to seven furlongs, which combined with the soft ground should help her superior stamina come to the forefront in the closing stages of the £5,000 contest.

Ziet d'Alsace did us proud by landing an 8-1 winning nap at the course earlier in the year, but on this occasion a poor low draw in stall one will not play to her strengths, so better to side with Elsinora (2.40).

Hughie Morrison's representative was far from disgraced when third in a claimer at Leicester in July, and with every prospect of handling the easy surface cannot be discounted in the Dearle & Henderson Selling Stakes.

With Catterick's meeting falling to the dreadfully wet weather, the only other meeting scheduled to take place is the National Hunt fixture at Perth.

Generally small fields make lucrative betting opportunities scarce at the Scottish venue, but Palisander (3.50) might buck the trend in the three-and-a-quarter-mile Inveralmond Renault Handicap Chase.

Any thoughts of victory for Palisander at Market Rasen on Saturday went west when the selection made a total hash of fence number four, followed by an almost equally bad blunder on the second circuit.

The jumping of Richard Ford's chaser is normally as safe as houses.

So as long as he doesn't repeat those uncharacteristic blunders, compensation awaits for those punters with sufficient faith to re-invest on the consistent ten-year-old.

Leave the opener to the useful flat racer, Mr Mischief (2.20).

He has attracted the services of none other than champion jockey Tony McCoy for his debut over the sticks in the Arnold Clark Maiden Hurdle.