COLOURFUL LIFE (1.45) will be a hard horse to beat in the opening Coral Eurobet Showcase Handicap Hurdle at Kempton this afternoon.

Mary Reveley's rangy chestnut started the season over fences, picking up a novices' chase at Uttoxeter from a half-dozen tries.

Unfortunately the handsome son of Rainbows For Life also blotted his copybook by either falling or unseating his jockey three times, statistics strongly suggesting he's not really a natural steeplechaser.

Connections clearly came to the same conclusion and sensibly switched their charge back to timber, a ploy that paid immediate dividends when he claimed the valuable Tote Top of the North Novices' Final at Newcastle last Saturday.

Not only did Colourful Life win, he also landed a substantial gamble in the process.

For his backers the money was safely in the bag from a long way out as jockey Alan Demspey sat as quiet as a church mouse until unleashing his mount with a devastating turn of foot to cut down the opposition on the uphill climb to the winning post.

The prospects of Mary landing a double with Merry Masquerade in the Grade Two £25,000 Rendlesham Hurdle are sadly pretty remote with the presence of the all-conquering French raider Baracouda (3.25) in the line-up.

Merry Masquerade collected the swag in the race 12 months ago. However, there was nothing of the quality of Francois Doumen's representative in the contest on that occasion.

The Reveley pair are not the only raiders from our region because Norman Mason also sends Nosam (2.15) and Emperor's Magic (4.30) down to the south London track.

Richard Guest has never hidden his admiration for Nosam, a game and genuine twelve-year-old poised to show some of his younger rivals a clean pair of heels in the Compare Odds Handicap Chase.

The chances of Emperor's Magic in the Corinthian Amateur Riders' Handicap Chase will be significantly increased should the forecast heavy rain arrive on cue.

It was like a glue-pot when he last prevailed at Catterick in December.

The victory demonstrated his well-documented ability to handle heavy ground.

There's certainly no danger of underfoot conditions at Warwick being anything other than desperately tiring.

Trainers have entered their horses accordingly, which explains the presence of Lady Of Gortmerron (3.35) in the George Coney Challenge Trophy.

Please don't expect the ten-year-old mare to do anything in a hurry since speed is not her forte.

But she does have the courage to keep galloping on through the mud once the three-mile pain barrier has been broken.

Barring accidents, the race for the all-weather jockey's championship seems all but over with the crown almost certainly heading Jimmy Quinn's way.

He's got another cracking book of rides at Wolverhampton, including Sashay (2.05) in division two of the two-mile Littlewoods Handicap.

Clive Cox's filly has been crying out for the distance ever since scraping home by a short-head over a mile-and-a-half at the course at the back end of last year.

Neither should Quinn be too far off the mark with Doctor Dennis, weighted to take the seven-furlong handicap at 4.50.