PATRICK HASLAM and Tony McCoy regularly team up to deadly effect and there seems no reason why they can't continue on their winning ways at Sedgefield this afternoon.

Last week the Middleham handler and reigning champion jockey got together at Perth and put the bookies to the sword with Dalida, now fancied to complete a quick-fire double in the Coors Brewery Claiming Hurdle.

Dalida (4.05) had previously been threatening to win a race of some description after being placed both on the Flat and over course and distance during the past three weeks.

She's a typically robust daughter of Pursuit Of Love whose stock invariably progress with age, hence explaining the steady if unspectacular improvement in her fortunes.

I can't see anything to threaten Dalida's domination today, and although the filly is likely to start at skinny odds, she appears by far and away the most likely winner of the two-mile-and-one-furlong contest.

Another of Haslam's horses to have travelled north to Perth was Mr Mischief (5.15), who lost no caste in defeat when failing to overhaul the well-backed Miss Shakira.

The very fact that Mr Mischief was returning from a 106-day absence is a relevant excuse in itself, additionally it's possible to take comfort from the statistic that he finished a full 16 lengths clear of the third-home, Rifleman.

McCoy also took his mount noticeably wide at the Scottish venue in search of the better ground, a tactic that ultimately suggested he didn't want to give Mr Mischief a hard time on his return from such a long lay-off.

Fitness-wise I reckon the selection will have come on a ton for the outing, from which we can deduce he'll not go down without a fight for the closing Weatherby's Messaging Service Handicap Hurdle.

The Camerons Strongarm Novices' Hurdle is one of the best events of its' type seen at the track for a while.

The Michael Dods-trained Spring Breeze has enjoyed a decent season on the level and deserves respect, as does Richard Fahey's newcomer to timber, Oldenway.

Maybe that pair don't make any appeal, in which case there's tried and trusted track and trip form in the shape of Micky Hammond's Snow's Ride, who landed some sizeable bets when scoring at the course in the spring.

Much will depend on the weather, but if the rain does stay away then the confirmed front-runner Spring Breeze, known to go well when faced with a sharp left-handed configuration, just gets my vote.

Mark Johnston, fresh from a sparkling two-timer at Hamilton yesterday, potentially has further success on the horizon via Nottingham-bound Think Lucky (4.30).

Seeing as the Colwick Park Nursery represents the first contest of 2005 for two-year-olds over a trip of a mile-and-and-a-quarter, it doesn't take rocket science to calculate Johnston has singled his youngster out specifically for the race.

Johnston has an embarrassment of riches in the juvenile department and with nigh on 100 to choose from, it's reasonable to assume he'll have had Think Lucky earmarked for this test of stamina for more than a week or two.

In terms of prize money Goodwood's Group 3 Merbury Catering Supreme Stakes carries the most cash, with £50,000 up for grabs amongst the nine runners.

The moody yet massively talented Arakan will have the assistance of Kieren Fallon aboard, never the less they might be hard pressed to account for New Seeker (3.40), the one-time hard-pulling handicapper who has developed into a smart pattern performer.

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