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Mark has two selections on Wednesday
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Scottish-trained novice can deny Skelton
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Novice hurdler the day's bets bet
14:18 Perth - Back Rattling Road @ 11/43.75
The Dan Skelton/Willie Mullins battle for the trainers' championship rolls on to Perth tomorrow, where both have plenty of chances.
Mullins isn't represented in this novices' handicap chase but Skelton fields Next Left, who we can be sure will arrive in tip-top condition but conversely is one the handicapper knows plenty about. The nine-year-old is edging back down the weights and will clearly be popular but I'm taking him on with the much less-exposed Rattling Road.
Lucinda Russell's charge may be an eight-year-old but he's low mileage for his age and has done little wrong in his four starts over fences.
A winner at Hexham in December before following up at Newcastle in January, the selection produced his best effort to date when second at the latter track on his most recent start and a reproduction of that will see him go close from a mark that still looks workable.
Of the rest, Fergal O'Brien's Denemethy is a lightly raced seven-year-old who bettered his hurdles form at the second time of asking over fences when winning at Market Rasen on Boxing Day. He's produced several good placed efforts since and looks likely to go well again, though whether he's quite as well treated as Rattling Road remains to be seen.
Back Rattling Road
14:48 Perth - Back Mister Meggit @ 15/82.88
The Mullins/Skelton battle rolls on to this listed novices' hurdle, where Mullins goes in three-handed, while Dan Skelton has just a sole representative.
Of the Closutton trio, Paul Townend is on board Kiss Will, who's still unexposed having made just three starts, the last pair coming over timber.
Second in a French bumper on debut, Kiss Will was off the mark on his first start for Mullins when winning a maiden at Fairyhouse in January. He then wasn't seen until the Turners at Cheltenham, where he was sent off a big price and finished well held behind The New Lion.
A return to calmer waters here should help and he isn't dismissed lightly.
However, I'm taking on Mullins and Skelton here with Jonjo and A J O'Neill's Mister Meggit, who could prove a class above.
A dual bumper winner, he created a very big impression when winning on his hurdling debut at Aintree in November, coming home nearly five lengths clear of Off The Jury.
It clearly wasn't all plain sailing after that as we didn't see the selection again until the Aintree Grand National meeting, where he finished fourth in Grade 1 company. He shaped better than the bare result that day and for my money emerged as comfortably the best long-term prospect in the field.
Mister Meggit fairly tanked through the race before making a complete hash of the last and then showed some residual greenness when asked to recover.
He'll have learnt plenty from that and I'm very keen on him back down in grade here.
Back Mister Meggit