DESPITE failing to get round last time out, The River Joker (12.45) makes plenty of appeal in the opening Barton Novices' Handicap Hurdle at Catterick this afternoon.

John Upson's gelding was seemingly unable to handle the bog-like conditions at Uttoxeter 31 days ago and was eventually pulled up by his jockey at the fourth hurdle from home.

But The River Joker had previously shown himself to be a far better horse than that when touching off Mithak in a long distance event at Huntingdon prior to Christmas. At first glance the form of the contest didn't appear to be any great shakes until Mithak went on to complete a gutsy double at Haydock and Ludlow.

Even after prolonged periods of rain the going at Catterick, a course where the sub-soil consists of sand and gravel, is rarely very testing, which should suit The River Joker down to a tee.

The Manse Brae earned himself a reputation for being less than fluent at his fences earlier on in the season, however there was nothing wrong with the way he jumped at Musselburgh in the New Year, recording an emphatic 11 length success over Hunters Tweed, who is no slouch.

Most of Malcolm Jefferson's inmates are ridden by Graham Lee, although on that occasion it was the highly regarded 3lb conditional Vinny Keane doing the steering on The Manse Brae.

Having done such a sterling job, Keane not surprisingly reatins the mount on The Manse Brae, fancied to defy top-weight in the three mile Malton Novices' Chase.

Richard Fahey's versatile six-year-old, Altay (3.25), returns to the National Hunt arena for the Harrogate Novices' Hurdle, having handsomely paid his way on the all-weather circuit during the past couple of months.

Like The Manse Brae, Altay has to shoulder top-weight after winning impressively at Musselburgh, but such is his size and scope he should be able to cope in a contest where Howard Johnson's Another Dude looks to be the main threat.

Royal Beluga (4.15) rates the best bet at Leicester in the two-and-a-half-mile Syston Handicap Chase.

Tom George's gelding created a favourable impression with back-to-back successes at Bangor and Ludlow, before letting favourite backers down with an abysmal display on his return to the last-named track on January 16th.

Provided you forgive Royal Beluga that one-off bad performance, he's got to be worth a chance to redeem himself against a field which consist of little more than glorified selling platers.

Anyone thinking of having a flutter at Lingfield ought to carefully consider the prospects of Halland Park Lad (2.05) in division 2 of the mile-and-a-half Amateur Riders' Handicap.

Sylvester Kirk's four-year-old split the useful pair Fiddler Creek and Mr Gisby on his last visit to the Fibresand at Wolverhampton. Both have won since and as long as Halland Park Land is not inconvenienced by the switch to the Polytrack, he's the one with by far and away the most progressive profile in the race.

Get more racing online at www.racing-north.co.uk.