POLAR SCOUT is on the right trail to secure victory in the feature event at Folkestone today, the David Edwards Memorial Handicap Chase.

Charlie Mann's seven-year-old should already be on the score-sheet this term, but having looked all over the winner at Plumpton last month, he bungled his chance with a series of sloppy leaps.

Mann and stable jockey, Noel Fehily, will have been hard at work on the schooling grounds to get Polar Scout (3.00) jumping more fluently, and provided he makes a small improvement in that department success is by no means a forlorn hope in the £8,000 race.

In the earlier and much less competitive Merry Christmas Selling Handicap Hurdle, North Point (2.00) needs only to show a glimmer of his old self to trounce some mediocre opponents.

A couple of years ago, North Point was useful on the flat and over jumps, so quite what has precipitated his fall from grace is hard to fathom without having inside knowledge of the Roger Curtis-trained gelding.

It's probably a minor physical problem that has prevented North Point from producing the goods, but he hinted that he might be verging on a mini-comeback when fifth at Ludlow recently, an effort which puts him slap-bang in the firing line for today's modest heat.

The only horse to get within sniffing distance of Dancing Mystery at Southwell seven days ago was Magic Glade (2.20), who returns to the course with a fine opportunity to justify almost certain favouritism in the Littlewoods Bet Direct Handicap.

According to most sets of speed figures, Roy Brotherton's sprinter has a little bit in hand on most of his rivals, which could be increased by the fact that Brotherton uses the smart claiming jockey, Richard Thomas, to take 3lb off the selection's back.

David Chapman's idea of keeping Queen Of The Night busy is working so well that a third consecutive sand success appears very much on the cards in the closing Football In Running Handicap.

Queen Of The Night's winning streak kicked off the week before last, when after a slow break from the stalls she simply flew round the outside to cut down the leaders with imperious ease.

It was a similar story at Wolverhampton four days ago, adopting similar tactics to record an almost identical triumph. While the filly is in such rampant spirits it might prove folly to oppose her, even though she must now tackle an extra furlong.

For the nap we go to Wolverhampton, where Manic (2.40) gets the nod in the seven-furlong Novice Stakes.

John Egan's mount was checked at a vital stage of the contest when fifth over track trip on his latest start at the course. Egan is sure to be keen to try to make amends for that unlucky effort, and given a trouble-free passage he shouldn't be too far off the mark.

* Timmy Murphy will miss major rides over the Christmas period after picking up a seven-day ban at Plumpton yesterday.

He will be unable to partner Martin Pipe's Our Vic or Therealbandit in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, and will also miss Beef Or Salmon's clash with Best Mate in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown on December 28.

Stewards took a dim view of the fact that he threw his whip at a horse in frustration after a fall.

Murphy has had a tremendous season so far on horses trained by Pipe and owned by David Johnson.

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