MARTIN PIPE launches a fearsome six-pronged attack on today's £100,000 Tote Gold Trophy at Newbury spearheaded by Tony McCoy's aptly-named mount Mr Cool (2.35).
The iceman McCoy makes few mistakes when it comes to cherry-picking the cream of Pipe's powerful stable so it's fairly safe to assume that Mr Cool is regarded as the best of the star-studded quintet which also includes Hit And Run, Auetaler, The French Furze and Copeland.
McCoy's confidence stems largely from the five-year-old's latest scintillating track and trip victory when the partnership ruthlessly dispatched the challenge of Hulysse Royale.
The form of the race is rock-solid, a point reinforced by the substantial ante-post plunge on Hulysse Royale over the past four days.
But even if he has made significant improvement I cannot envisage the latter reversing the placings with Mr Cool, who probably has more reason to be afraid of the hot-favourite Landing Light from Nicky Henderson's yard, responsible for the winner 12 months ago in the guise of Geos.
Landing Light shot to the head of the market with an emphatic success in a competitive event at Cheltenham a fortnight ago. Although he's sure to be thereabouts, the gelding represents poor value at around 4-1 for a horse with only three jumping runs under his belt.
In the preceding £50,000 Aon Chase, Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite First Gold (2.00) breezes over from France in an attempt to plunder yet another of our top National Hunt purses.
Francois Doumen's brilliant staying chaser has already taken on and beaten the best we have to offer in Kempton's "King George", and therefore cannot realistically be opposed, albeit at extremely cramped odds.
Mary Reveley's Function Dream (1.30) is another short-priced Festival contender seeking to smooth the path to Prestbury Park by pocketing the £33,000 Mitsubishi Shogun Game Spirit Chase.
The classy nine-year-old mare is expected to extend her winning sequence to five in a row, having massacred a top-notch line-up at Ascot in January, confirming her lofty status as the season's leading two-miler over fences.
Mrs Reveley's southern raiding party additionally consists of the talented trio Konker (3.05), Profluent (3.35) and Let's Fly.
All three are leading contenders in their respective races and it's worth considering stitching them together in doubles and trebles with the prospect of landing a really big hit should they all oblige.
As far as ardent fans of the Reveley camp are concerned, the same betting tactics could be employed at Haydock, where the stable have another fistful of fancied runners.
Marmaduke Jinks (1.40) gets the ball rolling in the opening Levy Board Novices' Hurdle, a contest in which he appears only to have Pompeii to beat.
Marmaduke Jinks slugged it out with several promising newcomers when successful in a Newcastle bumper last term, prior to disappointing on his hurdles bow at Aintree in October.
The good ground was probably too lively on that occasion, a situation not to be repeated at Haydock, where conditions are forecast to be extremely testing.
Oath Of Allegiance is another former bumper winner from the all-conquering Lingdale outfit.
She's not quite living up to expectations at present, although probably had a valid excuse at Catterick where the sharp nature of the course was totally against her.
Stablemate Random Harvest is not without hope in the £14,000 Mere House Handicap Chase, while Merry Masquerade (4.10) bids to take the Ladbroke Casinos Handicap Hurdle for the second year in succession.
Frost threatens to claim the fixture at Ayr which would be a hammer blow to Lenny Lungo, in with a great shout of knocking in double via Direct Access (2.55) and The Phair Crier (4.55).
The ex-Irish giant Direct Access is unbeaten in two starts on British soil, romping to an effortless six-length success on his latest outing at Doncaster.
"At over 17 hands he's one of the biggest I've trained," said Lungo this week about his ever-improving hurdler.
The Phair Crier is another yet to taste defeat having justified even-money favouritism over track and trip on his recent debut.
Milton Bradley's speed king Eastern Trumpeter (3.00) looks good to take the big sprint at Lingfield.
He's one of the most progresive horses in training, defying the official handicapper however much he puts him up in the ratings.
The £16,000 Lily Handicap is a tight-knit affair with several hold-up horses likely to be latching on to the tail of the trail-blazer Lost Spirit.
Off such a light weight and with Joanna Badger's 5lb allowance, Lost Spirit might just hold sufficient reserves to keep his rivals at bay in the home straight.
In the closing mile-and-a-quarter handicap, Forum Finale (4.25), twice runner-up at Wolverhampton, can gain just reward by bagging the Jack & Gill Cole Handicap.
l Bobbyjo's bid to win the Martell Grand National for a second time has been boosted by the imminent return to action of his jockey Paul Carberry.
The talented Irishman is expected to be back in action in time to partner the 11-year-old in the Aintree spectacular on April 7. The horse is trained by Carberry's father Tommy who said yesterday: ''Paul is riding exercise now.
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