JONJO O'NEILL'S stable has been in superb form all season, a point nicely illustrated when he unleashed yet another potential star in the shape of Carbury Cross at Musselburgh late last month.
Today Carbury Cross (2.30) reappears at Doncaster in the Minnow Novices Chase, an event he can use as a stepping stone to far greater glory, perhaps at the likes of Cheltenham or Aintree Festivals in the future.
It's no use denying the nap selections from this column have been performing anything other than pretty dismally of late.
However, it has been a far happier story for followers of my Racing North ten-to-follow choices, which are showing a healthy profit thanks to the likes of Carbury Cross, who when winning in Scotland was defying a long absence to score on his chasing debut at odds of 5-2.
In the opening Tete-A-Tete Selling Hurdle, Sailor Jack and Better Moment might well have the finish to themselves with preference marginally for Ginger McCain's runner.
Sailor Jack (2.00) opened his account over timber at Catterick just over a year ago, after which he failed to progress as anticipated.
But a long rest followed by a recent pipe-opener on the level at Southwell will hopefully have woken his ideas up.
The extended two-mile Showcase Handicap Hurdle is not a race for the faint-hearted punter with so many of the field capable of further improvement.
If the market speaks in favour of Andy's Lad (3.00) he looks the one to be on if only because Ferdy Murphy's yard is in such fantastic fettle.
Although numbers are similar, the Liberty Bells Novices' Handicap Chase is not nearly so competitive - in fact the casualty list could be quite long with so many dodgy jumpers in the line-up.
From 7lbs out of the official weights Little Worsall (3.30) appears to have a mountain to climb. Nonetheless he measures his fences accurately, has run with plenty of promise on his last two outings, so should give each-way supporters a good run for their money.
Lost Spirit's love affair with the equitrack at Lingfield continues unabated - he blew his rivals away with a typically forthright piece of front running over track and trip a week ago last Saturday.
Joanna Badger gets on particularly well with the five-year-old sand specialist, in with a great shout of completing a well-deserved hat-trick aboard Lost Spirit in the mile-and-a-half Free Information Handicap.
Over at Ludlow, Medium Wave (2.40) is given one final opportunity to shine in the Carlsburg Tetley Handicap Chase.
Simon Sherwood's gelding has not been his usual consistent self over the past few months, nevertheless there were distinct signs of a revival at Leicester recently on ground far softer than he would prefer.
Back on a livelier surface this afternoon, and re-united with Henry Oliver, maybe Medium Wave will return to the right wavelength.
l Conditional Carl Rafter made his second eight-hour round trip in a week to Sedgefield to ride Squandamania, and made it pay off again when the course specialist won the Harry Lane Memorial Handicap Hurdle yesterday.
Squandamania was shouldering a 7lb penalty for a his win here seven days ago, but he made light of it to draw away from Jack Flush from the last flight to score by five lengths.
Moreover, Xavier Aizpuru was another long-distance traveller, recouping the expenses of his 560-mile round trip from Stratford when Gus Berry won the Alan Merrigan Memorial Handicap Chase.
Gus Berry, a fifth winner of the season for Donald Forster who trains under permit only six miles away near Darlington, won a hurdle race on the same day last year.
Graham Lee, deputising for Tony Dobbin who cried off after aggravating a back injury at Carlisle on Monday, will not have a luckier winner all season than Jakes Progress who came home in front in the Alphameric Betting Display Systems Novices' Hurdle (division one)
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