Beaumont eyes double

Beaumont will be trusting that nothing goes amiss with his stable-star Hussard Collonges, third favourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. But the rest of his string have work to do, including King Dante (1.20) taking part in division one of the Tom McConnel Novices' Hurdle.

Like so many of the inmates at Peter's yard, King Dante's future probably lies over fences, but he showed sufficient speed in a National Hunt Flat race at Haydock to suggest initially he will able to make the job pay over the smaller obstacles.

Beaumont's Monty's Quest (2.20) bids to defy a 629-day absence in the Bert Logan Handicap Hurdle.

It is a very poor contest, tantamount to a selling race in all but name. In such circumstances a lively outsider often pops up at a decent starting price and Monty's Quest, who showed bags of promise a couple of years ago, fits neatly into that category.

The certain market leader, Rose d'April, is definitely worth taking on in my book. The contest Lenny Lungo's gelding won at Carlisle was on much slower ground, plus he failed to fire when flopping badly at Doncaster last time out.

Ferdy Murphy has vast supplies of untapped talent at his West Witton base and he has high hopes for Family Venture (3.20), strongly fancied to follow-up an impressive track and trip victory 11 days ago.

Family Venture is a colossus of a racehorse, dwarfing most of his compatriots such is his size and stature. To go with that substantial frame he also has a pretty decent engine to match, and judged by the way he waltzed home on his latest visit to Scotland, further success is very close at hand.

Taunton promises to be a right old-fashioned mudbath with the going already described as heavy in places and more rain apparently on the way.

One contestant guaranteed not to mind the conditions is Sadler's Secret (3.40), set to shoulder top-weight in the three mile Spiller & Webber Handicap Hurdle.

Timmy Murphy's mount gives the impression he would gallop through a ploughed field if asked. And by the time they run the race the horses from the previous four races are sure to have churned up the surface.

None of this will worry the ultra-consistent Sadler's Secret.

There's not much to get excited about at Southwell, where apart from Investment Force (12.30) in the opener, betting opportunities appear to be limited.

Mark Johnston's five-year-old has been sidelined with injury problems over the past 18 months, but he has been found an enticingly weak race in which to try to open his account.

* Nicky Henderson introduced a potentially exciting prospect when Back To Ben Alder spread-eagled the opposition at Kempton yesterday.

Two days after losing Bacchanal, the former Stayers' Hurdle winner at Cheltenham, Henderson harbours hopes of Festival glory with another son of that horse's sire, Bob Back.

Back To Ben Alder, who had cost his connections 88,000 Irish guineas three years ago, was well touted ahead of his racecourse debut in the first division of the Future Stars Standard Open National Hunt Flat race and was sent off the 15-8 favourite.

His supporters never had an anxious moment once he eased into the lead under Marcus Foley shortly after turning for home, and he cruised home 13 lengths clear of Forever Dream.

The form may be hard to evaluate but Henderson had no hesitation in nominating the Guinness Champion Bumper at Cheltenham for the imposing six-year-old.

''It's extraordinary,'' said Henderson. ''You lose Bacchanal on Saturday, and now maybe we've found another Bob Back.

''He's got a huge amount of ability. He was terribly weak last year. I tried to get him on the track a couple of times but he just wasn't ready for it.

''All he's done here is prove what we always thought he was and if anyone says there's one better than that I'd love to know where it is!"

Thirty minutes later Hawk's Landing, runner-up in a bumper at Thurles in October, took the second division in impressive fashion on his first start since joining Jonjo O'Neill.

Hawk's Landing, on whom amateur Kevin Power wore JP McManus's green and gold silks, eased away in the last two furlongs to beat Distant Thunder by three lengths in a time similar to that posted by Back To Ben Alder.

''I'm glad the two didn't clash,'' said O'Neill, confirming that Hawk's Landing would be aimed at the Festival bumper.

O'Neill added that two of his leading contenders for Championship contests at Cheltenham, Keen Leader and Rhinestone Cowboy, are scheduled to run at Wetherby this Saturday.

Henderson and Foley had earlier been successful with Hersov in the Master Bavin's Chancers And Charmers Novice Chase.

Hersov, who had made a successful start over fences at Leicester last month, thwarted favourite Over The Storm by a neck.

Ladbrokes clipped Hersov to 33-1 from 40-1 for the Royal & SunAlliance Chase at the Festival, but Henderson was unsure if that race would suit the seven-year-old.

''He'd nearly look the ideal type for the National Hunt Chase when it was a race for proper maidens who hadn't won over hurdles,'' he said.

Richard Rowe continued his good recent run when Gladtoknowyou overcame an absence of almost three years to land the 'Kempton For Weddings' Novices Handicap Chase on only his fourth outing.

Gladtoknowyou galloped on powerfully from the last under Leighton Aspell to outstay Flinders Chase and Keltic Heritage by three quarters of a length, and a length and three-quarters.

''He's really a three-mile horse but having been off for 1,045 days I thought he might be a bit fresh and over two and a half miles round here you are going to get a good strong pace,'' said Rowe.

''He's had so many niggling problems and if I could have turned the clock back I'd have fired him three years ago rather than 18 months ago."

* Bookmakers are adamant that strike action on racecourses will continue if the Levy Board does not review its decision to impose a charge of ten per cent profits tax for the British Horseracing Board lists of runners from April 1.

On-course layers stepped up their action with a united protest by refusing to bet on the first race at all of yesterday's three meetings.

No starting prices were returned at Exeter or Wolverhampton, but they were at Kempton as three rails bookmakers - the representatives of the ''Big Three'' high street firms, Coral, Ladbrokes and William Hill - laid bets.

* Trainer Jonjo O'Neill faces a Jockey Club hearing at Portman Square over the running of Top Of The Left at Exeter yesterday.

The JP McManus-owned gelding finished unplaced in the second division of the Sparkle Cleaning Service Novices' Hurdle under Tom Siddall.

O'Neill was referred to Portman Square under the rule concerning schooling in public as this was his third offence in two years.

* British Horseracing Board and the managing executive at Lingfield have agreed to stage an extra race at the track on February 5.

The Littlewoods Bet Direct Classified Stakes over seven furlongs will be a £6,000-added contest and entries will close on January 31.

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