KEITH REVELEY'S plan of targeting Categorical (2.50) at the final of Newcastle's Betfred Poker Juvenile Novices' Hurdle is beginning to look rosier by the minute, writes COLIN WOODS (JANUS).

There's no better place to advertise one's skills than in front of the TV cameras, so the presence of Channel 4's team at the Tyneside track is a welcome bonus for Reveley, who doesn't always get the credit he deserves.

Categorical is a typical example of Reveley's dexterity, seeing as he's achieved the near-impossible by converting the former five-furlong Southwell sprint scorer to winning hurdler over two miles at Wetherby last time out.

Now that's what I call a training feat, especially as the gelding didn't just edge home, he actually bolted up by ten lengths in the hands of Richie McGrath, who rode a superb waiting race, prior to pulling the trigger at the second-last flight.

With conditions bound to be testing, expect a similar ploy from the ever-patient McGrath, likely to lurk menacingly in the rear and then pounce when his opponents are running out of steam in the closing stages.

McGrath might also be on the mark in the following Northumberland Chase aboard Jimmy Bond, a punters' friend if ever there's been one.

Jimmy Bond (3.25) boasts three wins and three second places from just eight starts over fences, a fantastic tally.

McGrath is partnering the selection for his mother-in-law, Middleham's Kate Walton, whose decision to drop the seven-year-old down a half-mile in trip smacks of archetypal Yorkshire common sense.