MARTIN PIPE'S sorties to Wetherby are few and far between, but when he does despatch the likes of Well Chief (2.25) from his Somerset base the opposition had better look out.

The reigning champion trainer has clearly targeted Well Chief specifically for the £50,000 Castleford Chase, a two-mile event which has also attracted last year's winner, Kadarann, plus the high-class Armaturk, both handled by Pipe's arch rival, Paul Nicholls.

It seems whatever Nicholls does, he simply cannot wrestle the trainers' title from Pipe, aided last season by Well Chief, who completed a breath-taking Cheltenham and Aintree Festival double in the Arkle and Martell Cognac Chases.

Well Chief is without doubt a National Hunt star right out of the top drawer, a point underscored by his most recent close-up Sandown third to the heroes of the Queen Mother Champion Chase during the past couple of years, Moscow Flyer and Azertyiuop.

Although Kadarann and Armaturk are two proven horses in their own right, I fancy the main danger to Well Chief's superiority may well emerge from a challenger trained much nearer to home, the Bingley raider, Mister McGoldrick.

Sue Smith's imposing seven-year-old was no match for the selection at Aintree in April, however today's far stiffer course and testing fences will suit him much more than the Grand National venue did.

Ferdy Murphy, who took the big race at the track yesterday with Truckers Tavern, has an excellent opportunity to follow up in the opener with Garde Bien (12.45).

Garde Bien has already shown he possesses a progressive profile by picking up successive races at Sedgefield and Doncaster. He's gone up in the weights, but perhaps not enough to stop him completing a three-timer in the Tony Dickinson Novices Handicap Chase.

Murphy has several alternative chances up and down the country, starting with Tribal Venture (1.30) at Ayr.

The West Witton grey requires a demanding surface and with the ground currently described as soft - and with more rain forecast, conditions are set to be absolutely ideal for the six-year-old in the two-mile-and-five-furlong Scottish And Universal Novices' Chase.

Ferdy sends Joes Edge (2.10) and Europa (3.15) to Kempton in search of yet more prize money.

Joes Edge turns out in the three-mile Handicap Chase on the back of a career best effort when chasing home Control Man at Cheltenham. Control Man had nine lengths to spare, but we must also remember that Joes Edge was even further ahead of the third-placed individual, Persian Waters.

For the later Stan James Handicap Chase, Murphy's relatively new recruit, Europa (3.15), cannot be ignored.

Europa appeared to totally lose his way towards the end of his stay with former trainer Tom Tate, but that didn't stop an almost instant revival once Murphy got his hands on the flashy bay with the charismatic white blaze.

Opting to try his luck over this afternoon's course and distance on only his second start for the yard, Europa came back to form with a bang under a confident ride from Jason Maguire.

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