Catterick stage the richest day of racing on their annual calendar this afternoon, the £15,000 skybet.com North Yorkshire Grand National forming the centrepiece of an eagerly-anticipated card, writes Colin Woods.

The gruelling three-and-three-quarter-mile marathon will test even the heartiest of warriors, especially as recent rain has injected plenty of juice into the ground.

In such instances it's no use mucking around trying to suss out horses that "might" stay the trip because known stamina is the key, a quality Harlov (2.15) possesses in spades.

Andrew Parker's dour eight-year-old takes a couple of miles before he even warms up to the task, but when he does get going the leaders better look out as all past evidence suggests the further Harlov travels, the more dangerous he becomes.

Take his latest reappearance run at Bangor, for instance. Over an identical trip on a rain-sodden surface, all bar two of the 15-strong field, Bear On Board and Harlov, had waved the white flag come the final two lung-bursting furlongs.

And it was only in the dying strides of the contest that Parker's raider had to give best to Bear On Board, who won purely on the strength of superior fitness, utilising the massive advantage accrued by having had two previous runs.

There can be no question that the gallant Harlov will have come on significantly for the pipe-opener, and provided the fragile anatomy which has restricted him to only a handful of runs during a stop-start career holds out, then victory can be his.

For the nap selection I'm taking a swipe outside the off stump on chasing newcomer Upswing (2.50).

Struggling to make her mark over hurdles, the switch to fences in the Ian Hutchinson Challenge Cup might just prove to be the making of Bob Johnson's bonny little mare.