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Timeform daily: The Ludlow Racing Partnership Handicap Hurdle (3)

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Timeform run through the nine-runner race where David Pipe has the current leading contender

This handicap contains several sorts who come into the race in good heart, one with strong claims at the weights being the David Pipe-trained I'm So Lucky. Verging on smart on the Flat when trained by Mark Johnston in 2006, he took a while to get the hang of things over hurdles, winning just once in his novice campaign and little better than fair. Judged on those efforts he started life in handicaps on a harsh mark and was duly pulled up on his first two starts in this sphere. However, having joined the team at Pond House, he showed much improved form when winning at Stratford earlier this month, spread-eagling his field. A 10-lb rise for that success looks on the lenient side given the manner of his win, always travelling smoothly, and he should take the beating.

The other last-time-out winner in the field is Silver Prophet who took advantage of a drop in the weights after a lengthy absence at Plumpton, responding well to pressure in the straight to beat Lit Et Mixe by three quarters of a length. A 3 lb rise for that win is fair judged on the pick of Silver Prophet's 2005/6 form and he's one for the shortlist, though seems sure to get taken on for the lead.

Corran Ard is an interesting runner. Useful on the Flat in 2006 when notching up a hat-trick, he's very lightly raced over hurdles and made a promising start in this sphere later that year, finishing a length second to the enigmatic Ouninpohja at Taunton before winning at Southwell (beat Pevensey by neck). He was entitled to need his reappearance at Newbury (handicap debut) when held up and not given an unduly hard time, so is probably worth another chance to progress, especially with his yard starting to come back into form.

A couple who are in good form are Distiller and Sebastiano. Distiller is another recruit from the Flat, fairly useful in that sphere for William Muir last season, and showed improved form over hurdles last time when runner-up at Sandown. He's got the potential to do better still when granted a greater emphasis on speed, something which he seems likely to get here with the forecast ground good (good to soft in places). Contrastingly, Sebastiano thrived earlier this winter on heavy ground, winning at Lingfield and finishing second at Kempton. He did enough at Kempton to show that his new mark shouldn't prove beyond him but although still performing respectably since, again seems unlikely to get his preferred conditions. Of the remainder, Cape Greko has been generally progressive in his brief hurdling career thus far but finished tailed off when last seen in December so now has something to prove, especially as he's not always looked entirely straightforward, while Nesnaas can't be ruled out on his early-season form and will be better suited by this trip than at Huntingdon last time, having had a largely disappointing spell over fences in between.