MAKE sure Mughas (4.00) is at the top of your shopping list if planning an investment in the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival today.

Mughas has developed into a high-class hurdler this term, first winning at Aintree then thrashing the classy Double Honour in a hot Chepstow handicap.

He then suffered a minor blip when getting stuck in a bog at Warwick, prior to bouncing back in gritty fashion to snatch fourth spot with a whirlwind finish in the Tote Gold Trophy at Newbury.

As the Newbury contest was a good four furlongs short of his optimum distance, it was a truly magnificent effort by Alan King's five-year-old, who has been the subject of massive ante-post support since that run.

Thankfully though the price of Mughas has not shrunk too much, principally due to the participation of top-weight Rhinestone Cowboy, a relatively late defector from yesterday's Champion Hurdle.

By a curious twist of fate the presence of Jonjo O'Neill's star has helped Mughas no end in view of the fact that plenty of his most dangerous rivals have now been forced to put up several pounds of overweight.

In the preceding Queen Mother Champion Chase, last year's winner Moscow Flyer bids to retain his position as the UK and Ireland's number one two-mile chaser in the face of a potentially crown-toppling challenge from Azertyuiop (3.20).

Traditionally one of the most eagerly anticipated and exciting races of the three-day meeting, both camps seem upbeat about their respective charges.

Paul Nicholls reports Azertyuiop as having "peaked at exactly the right time" for the £250,000 showpiece, while jockey Barry Geraghty is "super-confident" his mount, Moscow Flyer, will deliver the goods in what promises to be a titanic tussle up the famous Cheltenham hill.

Azertyuiop, who won the Arkle with ease 12 months ago, has definitely come on a ton over the past three months and he just gets the nod from this quarter in the mouth-watering £250,000 affair.

Several future Gold Cup pretenders line up for the Royal & SunAlliance Chase, which is arguably one of the strongest renewals during the past couple of decades.

The Pipe camp have been waxing lyrical about their representative, Our Vic, reckoned by Martin Pipe and Tony McCoy as the pick of their immensely powerful team for the entire fixture.

Admittedly Our Vic was mighty impressive when scoring with any amount in hand at Ascot recently, but his jumping was a bit too crooked for my liking and preference therefore goes to Royal Emperor (2.35).

Sue Smith's gutsy grey failed by inches to secure the Pertemps Final over hurdles at last year's meeting and has looked even better after being switched to fences at the beginning of the current campaign.

Royal Emperor is a big round-barreled individual, but don't let that Billy Bunter profile cloud your judgement because underneath his rotund appearance there is an equine engine to die for.

If the majority of the leading sets of speed figures are to be believed, Howard Johnson's Crook-based raider, Inglis Drever (2.00), is a proverbial steering job for the opening two-mile-and-five-furlong Novices Hurdle.

Nothing is quite that easy at the world's most competitive jumps meeting.

But Inglis Drever was pretty smart on the Flat - form which he's transferred to hurdles in some style by winning all three of his starts over timber to date.