RICHARD FAHEY'S long journey from Malton to Kempton to contest the £50,000 Lanzarote Hurdle should not be in vain provided Altay (3.40) maintains the stable's outstanding run of form.

Fahey, who enjoyed an across-the-card treble at Catterick and Southwell on Thursday, clearly has his horses in prime fettle. Ignoring such positive trends is a perilous occupation, especially as Altay possesses a proven record in similarly high-profile handicaps, having scooped the valuable Swinton Hurdle at Haydock in May.

The only potential fly in the ointment is the state of the ground because Altay has shown a distinct preference for a fast surface.

Currently, underfoot conditions are forecast to be good, a point underlined by Clerk of the Course Brian Clifford: It's been dry here for two days and even if rain falls I don't think it will get any worse than good to soft," he said.

Another couple of long-distance pot-hunters from our region, hoping to return richer rather than poorer, are Mary Reveley's useful duo, Il Cavaliere (3.10) and Overstrand (4.10).

Twelve months ago, Il Cavaliere snapped up the Pacemaker Magazine Handicap Hurdle and despite now being 10lbs higher in the weights, still warrants each-way support in his bid to win the race for the second year in succession.

Having won four-in-a-row, Overstrand's bubble burst in spectacular fashion when failing to land a massive ante-post gamble in a £100,000 event at Ascot in mid-December. Reveley's five-year-old now drops back into far less testing company for the Middlesex Novices' Hurdle, and with the added bonus that the son of In The Wings steps up to a more demanding distance, nothing less than a clear-cut win will be a satisfactory result.

Wincanton's fixture offers up several potentially lucrative betting opportunities, none more so than Merchants Friend (2.50) in the Connaught Cup Handicap Chase.

Charlie Mann's chunky little chaser has, in the past, disadvantaged himself by getting too far behind in the early stages of his races. The most probable reason for such idleness is failure to concentrate 100 per cent on the job, so to counteract this off-putting trait, Mann fitted his charge with a set of cheek-pieces at Kempton recently.

Four lengths clear of his rivals and travelling as sweet as the proverbial nut, everything was going to plan at the south London venue until Merchants Friend forgot to get high enough at the 13th of the 18 fences, unceremoniously dumping jockey Noel Fehily on the seat of his pants.

The nine-year-old is normally as safe as houses at his obstacles and I don't expect a repeat of that uncharacteristic error. In fact given the state of the testing ground, plus a track likely to play to Merchants Friend's strengths, success is no forlorn hope.

In the closing Partnership Handicap Hurdle, previous course-and-distance scorer Osohot (4.00) is worth an each-way snifter.

Osohot has valid excuses for a couple of below-par efforts of late, each time being thwarted by a slow early pace at Sandown and Haydock. Headstrong by nature, the only way Jim Wilson's eleven-year-old performs up to scratch is when he's towed along at a decent clip from the second the tapes fly up.

When the leaders do set off at a furious pace, Osohot does not waste vital energy reserves by pulling his riders' arms out of their sockets for the first mile-and-a-half, and as a consequence has plenty of gas left in the tank come the long and arduous run to the line.

For my best bet on the Flat at Lingfield, I nominate Brian Reilly's mount Star Of Normandie (3.00) to get back on the winning trail.

Reilly is nothing short of sensational value for his 5lb allowance, often riding the socks off his more senior colleagues in the weighing room. Last time out Star Of Normandie would likely have won given the benefit of a trouble-free passage and given a little more luck handsome compensation awaits in the £20,000 Littlewoods Bet Direct Handicap.

* IN-FORM Echo tipster, Janus (Colin Woods), followed up Tuesday's winning 6-1 nap selection, Dunraven, by making yesterday's impressive Kelso scorer, Bob's Buster (5-2), his best bet of the day.

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