Well-schooled Redicean should be a big player for King at Cheltenham

Redicean is a serious JCB Triumph Hurdle contender

Were you watching, Apple’s Shakira? The Cheltenham favourite looks to have a serious rival for a race whose betting she’s topped for the last three months.

Useful Flat racer Redicean had divided opinion in his first two hurdles starts, winning both tidily enough but not impressing everyone with his jumping second time round.

However he'd done an awful lot of schooling for Alan King since then and was foot perfect on his return to the course for the Adonis Juvenile Hurdle.

As on his previous two visits to Kempton, he looked full of running in the closing stages and promises to be well suited by the stiffer test of stamina that Cheltenham offers.

You do sometimes get what you pay for

Global Citizen cost £275,000 at the Cheltenham sales last spring, but he looks a bargain when you consider what he might go for were he to go through the ring again now.

The way he demolished a smart field at Kempton suggests that the Ben Pauling-trained six-year-old could well be the best 2m novice hurdler in Britain.

And although he's reportedly unlikely to take up his entries in the Imperial Cup or at Cheltenham, he should have every chance of recouping more of his purchase price at Aintree in April.

Global Citizen: an impressive winnerCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Gordon Elliott has yet another smart prospect in Mitchouka

Mitchouka may have had the best form in the juvenile hurdle at Fairyhouse but it was not hard to be impressed with the way he way he got the job done.

Scarcely coming off the bridle to see off some fair rivals suggested strongly that he's still on the up.

The only downside is that the handicapper will also have been watching and although he has a couple of Grade 1 entries, the Boodles Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle is his reported target at Cheltenham.

Nicky Richards is certainly doing his bit to continue the revival of northern jump racing

Guitar Pete and Simply Ned have already landed big prizes for Greystoke this winter and stablemate Baywing was an emphatic winner of the Betfred Eider Handicap Chase.

He appeared to relish the 4m½f trip and testing ground conditions as he forged clear for a decisive victory.

There could well be more to come, either in the Betfred Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter next month or the Coral Welsh Grand National next season.

Baywing flies the last to win the Betfred Eider full of runningCredit: John Grossick Racing

Master horses sometimes have master trainers

It's 34 years ago that David Elsworth had 66-1 shot Mighty Flutter finish third in the Derby, but he still knows how to get a good horse ready for the big day.

He freshened Listed winner Master The World up after a flat effort just before Christmas and brought him back fit and firing to go mighty close in the Group 3 Betway Winter Derby at Lingfield and get the prize in the stewards' room.

It was 105 days since Master Dee's last run, but Fergal O'Brien had him spot-on for the Betdaq Handicap Chase and scored with an authority that suggests he could be in for a profitable spring.