'Hopefully we can see the best of him' - who will come out on top in this clash of past and future champion jockeys?

This competitive 12-runner handicap hurdle features a rare clash between champion jockey Brian Hughes and the two men fighting it out for this year's title – Harry Cobden and Sean Bowen.

Hughes sits third in the championship but has struck form in recent weeks, with nine winners from 25 rides (36 per cent) giving him a higher two-weekly strike-rate than Cobden and Bowen.

The champion gets the leg-up on Blue Fin, who reverts to hurdles after disappointing in two of his three chase starts. He chased home Trelawne, who was sent off favourite for the Ultima after showing strong form subsequently, on his first run in a handicap, so this 2lb lower mark looks workable.

Of the three riders, Bowen has the best strike-rate at the track. He is operating at 29 per cent (13-45) over the last five seasons – Hughes is 16 per cent and Cobden 20 per cent – but his mount Chatshow Tv will need to show major improvement after being well beaten on his handicap debut last month.

Championship leader Cobden is back on board Knowwhentoholdem, who he steered to a comfortable eight-length victory when in the care of Anthony Charlton. A 5lb rise for that looks fair.

However, they could all be trumped by Tom Bellamy and Good Look Charm, who tackles the weakest race she has faced all season. She returned to hurdles with a comfortable victory at Wincanton and has since run well in races like the Lanzarote and a Grade 3 handicap at Sandown.

She drops massively in class here, gets back on soft ground and a 1lb drop for last time, when she was outpaced turning for home, could just be a bonus.

Yes Day, who chased home Pertemps Final third Cuthbert Dibble, won't mind the drop in trip, while Montregard, a half-brother to Protektorat, and Al Kalila warrant respect on their handicap debuts.
Analysis by Harry Wilson

Ground and weather

The ground is described as soft after more than 10.5mm of rainfall from Monday to Wednesday. A forecast of 1-2mm is expected on Wednesday afternoon, while up to 4mm could arrive on Thursday.

What they say

Jonjo O'Neill, trainer of Yes Day
He's in good form and it's his first run back since the wind op so we'll see how that goes. Hopefully it's helped and he can run a good race. He ran all right last time and we hope we can see some improvement.

Oliver Signy, trainer of Willsburg
I'm really pleased with him. His fall at the track last time hasn't seemed to put him off and he's come back full of vigour and is working really well. It looks a competitive 0-120 but he was running well last time out before falling. They've put the winner [Magical King] down 1lb and us up 1lb, so we're off 119 now. There's been a lot of rain around and I'm looking forward to him having a good run, while the step up in trip should work.

Stuart Edmunds, trainer of Magical King
He's in good form and it'll probably be his last run of the season. On some of his form he could be well handicapped, but he's still a bit immature and he needs to grow up a bit. I think a handicap will just sharpen him up.

Neil Mulholland, trainer of Knowwhentoholdem
He won well at Newbury last time and it's a pretty similar track. Harry [Cobden, jockey] rides plenty for us and it's good to have him ride him again because he knows.
Reporting by Liam Headd

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