Angers betting pointers: our French expert highlights the names to note

The seven-race card at Angers on Monday, live on Sky Sports Racing, will be at the forefront of British and Irish punters' minds with no racing in either nation until Wednesday at the earliest due to equine flu and a couple of blank days in the calendar respectively. Racing Post French correspondent Scott Burton runs the rule over the track and the runners and riders

Don't look back in Angers – front-runners do well here

Angers plays a key part in the ecosystem of courses in the jumping-rich west of France and is often used as a stepping stone to bigger things at Auteuil and Compiegne.

Indeed, this first jumps meeting of year at the track means we are less than a month away from the resumption at Auteuil itself following the winter break.

A key factor for punters will be in assessing the claims of horses which have superior form at that venue against those that arrive match-fit from Pau or Cagnes-sur-Mer.

The track is right-handed and, unlike many more complicated French layouts, the chase course does not take any deviations from its mile circumference.

Although conditions are forecast to be between holding and heavy, this is not the most demanding jumping test and front-runners can do well here.

Reveley returns after injury

The opening AQPS four-year-old conditions chase (11.25 GMT) offers James Reveley a first ride since falling at Pau on December 8.

The 2016 champion jockey partners Furax, who made a pleasing enough start to his chasing career at Auteuil last August.

On ground quicker than is usually the case at the Paris venue, Reveley was patient that day and Furax ran on well from the home turn.

That race turned out to feature some of the best debutant chasers around, with the winner and runner-up going on to fill second and fifth places in the Grade 2 Prix Congress in November.

Furax has since moved from Guillaume Macaire to Philippe Peltier, which should in no way be seen as a negative.

Should the likely favourite be a little short of peak fitness then Flavius could take advantage having made a reasonable first start over fences as Pau last month, although he might need to be a little slicker through the air than on that occasion if he is to trouble Furax.

Fautilunedenuo has reasonable course form, but of more interest could be Peltier's second runner Feret, who showed some ability when placed twice over hurdles at Pau in January.

Peltier and Bressou names to note

While Furax may be the most high-profile horse for locally-based Peltier, it won't be his only chance of the day.

A regular in the upper echelons of the prize-money lists come season's end, Peltier sent out only a handful of runners during the Pau winter meeting but will be gearing up for the return to action in the upper half of the country.

Peltier is represented by Espoir De Grillon in the chase for five-year-olds (11.55) as well as the newcomer Lady Lises in the four-year-old hurdle restricted to fillies (1.37).

Dominique Bressou runs a couple of interesting newcomers at Angers on MondayCredit: Racing Post / Scott Burton

The standard set by those to have racecourse experience is far from insurmountable and another of interest is Lost Paradise, a reasonable performer on the Flat at around a mile and a half for Stephane Wattel, who now goes hurdling for Mont St Michel-based Dominique Bressou.

Bressou also saddles Tresse, who could easily start favourite for this but was well held in two fourth-placed efforts at Pau in January.

Bressou is best known for his brilliant handling of crack chaser Milord Thomas and runs another newcomer, Authority, in the equivalent race for colts and geldings (1.02), a race which looks wide open following the defection of Shaktiman.

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