MALCOLM JEFFERSON suffered a tragic loss when his Champion Hurdle hope Dato Star died on the gallops late last year, but at least Moss Harvey has come along just at the right time to soften the blow.

Moss Harvey won four staying hurdle races on the bounce for Jefferson prior to being touched off by the highly regarded The Phair Crier at Newcastle on January 12.

The softer the ground the better for Moss Harvey (1.35), so it's no great shock that Malcolm has elected to send his useful seven-year-old to Haydock to contest the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle over the neck end of three miles.

At this stage of the season it's nearly always bottomless at Haydock, conditions absolutely tailor-made for the mud-loving Moss Harvey, ridden as usual by Graham Lee, who is enjoying his best campaign on the 42-winner mark.

Neither has Lee's skill-in-the-saddle gone unnoticed in other quarters since he gets the leg up on a couple of Ferdy Murphy's raiders, Khan Kicker (2.05) and Historg (3.15).

After hitting the post a couple of times Khan Kicker finally got on the score-sheet at Musselburgh, although in all honesty it was something of a penalty kick in a very weak event.

Khan Kicker faces a far stiffer task than the egg and spoon event he took in Scotland when lining up for the £15,000 Red Square Reloaded Novices' Handicap Hurdle. But if he's as good as his home reputation suggests, a follow-up victory beckons.

When Historg was pulled up at Wetherby first time out this season he was discovered to have been suffering from a slight heart problem.

"Thankfully it was a one-off incident and isn't troubling him anymore," said Murphy, who is hopeful his smart young chaser can stay on all fours after clumsily getting rid of Adrian Maguire last time out.

It'll be a great day for Sutton Bank if Les Eyre wins the Tote Gold Trophy at Newbury and his neighbour Kevin Ryan scoops Lingfield's feature, the £25,000 mile-and-a-half Call Bet Direct Handicap with Gralmano (4.05).

Unbeaten in three tries over timber before Christmas, Ryan decided the risk of injury was too great for his gelding over jumps and switched him back to the flat.

The plan nearly worked when Gralmano finished a close-up fifth at the course over ten furlongs last Saturday. Tony Clark made the running that day, a fatal error nowadays on the polytrack where 90 per cent of the winners come from off the pace.

If Clark has the noddle to hold his mount up, I firmly believe Gralmano will have sufficient reserves to claim the most substantial prize of his career to date.

Mary Reveley and Len Lungo appear to hold virtually all the aces between them at Ayr via The Major (1.50), The Phair Crier (2.20), She's All Heart (2.55), The Bajan Bandit (3.55) and Malek (4.25).