Lansdowne taken to score

Lansdowne stands out as the best bet in the April Claiming Hurdle over two and a half miles at Plumpton today. The Paul Nicholls-trained 10year-old is a useful handicap hurdler but his only wins so far this season have come in claimers - over today's course and distance in November and more recently at Chepstow two weeks ago.

At the Welsh course Lansdowne was never out of a canter to win by four lengths from Little Serena. Always on the bridle the High Top gelding scored far more easily than the margin suggests.

Both Lansdowne's victories were gained on soft ground, similar conditions to which he will experience at Plumpton, and Lansdowne earns the nap vote to register his third success of the campaign.

Charlie Brooks, whose training future appears uncertain following his decision to quit Uplands Stables in Lambourn at the end of the season, can enjoy some success with Phar Better at Exeter. The six-year-old has shown promise on his two starts.

In a Huntingdon bumper the son of Phardante went down by a neck to Percy Parkeeper, running on well in the closing stages after showing signs of inexperience.

He then went to Newbury and made a pleasing debut over hurdles in very soft ground.

Looming large in the straight, he appeared to be going better than the eventual winner, but he failed to find the required extra approaching the last and finished a six-length runner-up to Calon Lan.

Sure to have learned from that experience Phar Better is taken to open his account in the Exmoor `National Hunt' Novices' Hurdle.

Middleham trainer Micky Hammond has, in some reports, been linked with the job soon to become available at Brooks's yard.

But what is certain is that Hammond has enjoyed another fine season and J J Baboo can win a moderate-looking McLean Contracts Maiden Hurdle at Kelso.

Yet to score in 12 outings over hurdles, he has run creditably on several occasions in better company than he faces here and returns to the minimum distance of two miles, over which he has shown his best form.

Ingletonian has been taking on better company in his most recent races and Bruce Mactaggart's reliable sort should prove too good for his rivals in the Ryden International Property Consultants Novices' Chase.

King Of Kings continued his preparation for Saturday's Newmarket 2,000 Guineas with a gallop over six furlongs at Ballydoyle yesterday. "He worked nicely," was trainer Aidan O'Brien's verdict on the spin by the colt who is the principal market rival to the odds on favourite Xaar.