Paul Kealy's play of the day at Ascot

Champ, who has form figures first time out of 1211211 and has won one of these, is a perfectly reasonable price at around 5-1, but the race-fit Paisley Park has won three Long Walk Hurdles and is the suggestion at similar odds.

Emma Lavelle's evergreen 11-year-old went down by a neck to Champ first time out last season in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury, but then turned the form around in commanding fashion to land his third Long Walk even though it was rescheduled for Kempton, a track thought not to play to his strengths.

Ascot most definitely does, and Paisley Park returned this season with all the old fire in the belly, just failing to get up when conceding 6lb to a race-fit Dashel Drasher at Newbury.

This will have been his number one target for the season, and with a decent field and Dashel Drasher in there to keep the pace honest, it's going to be run to suit.