Boots Madden is the one to be on in today's 49's Handicap at Worcester. The Venetia Williams-trained eight-year-old, a real chasing type, looked one to follow when winning easily over course and distance on his debut over fences last season only to lose his way subsequently.
But he bounced back on his Warwick reappearance with a three-length defeat of Bold Account.
Boots Madden has plenty of scope and ought to be able to progress beyond his current official rating of 102.
Ardent Scout is a suggested selection in a very competitive race for the £20,000-added Tote Placepot Birthday Worcester Novices' Chase.
Just the sort of horse that trainer Sue Smith excels with, Ardent Scout was on target on his chasing debut at Carlisle, plugging on to deny Birkdale by a length over two and a half miles on soft ground.
He will appreciate the longer trip here and is the type to progress through the season.
Smolensk is today's best bet in the Air Products Acts Handicap Chase at Market Rasen.
Jack Berry always means business with his few jumpers and Smolensk looks set to make his mark this season.
Smolensk took a while to get the hang of things as a novice last season but opened his account at Hereford in March, where he was a lucky winner.
Smolensk moves into the senior ranks on a fair handicap mark and this small field should suit him well. Berry can be relied upon to have put plenty of work into him.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)