Timeform highlight a ratings choice, a big improver and a Flag of note at Gowran Park, Haydock and Wincanton.
The Ratings Banker
Sharjah - 14:17 Gowran Park
Sharjah is now a ten-year-old and probably not quite the force of old but he has still shown a level of form this season that suggests he's going to be difficult to beat in this Grade 2 event.
Sharjah was runner-up to top-class stablemate State Man on his return in the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown in November and then third behind that rival in the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown in December.
Sharjah, who was bidding to win the Matheson Hurdle for the fifth year in succession, was probably third best in any case, though he was on the backfoot early on after making a bad mistake at the second flight.
He doesn't have State Man or Vauban to worry about here and, even though he's giving weight away, he is still at least 4 lb clear on Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings.
The Big Improver
Afadil - 13:30 Haydock
Afadil, a maiden winner on the Flat for Francis-Henri Graffard, proved a class apart from his rivals on his hurdling debut for Paul Nicholls at Taunton last month, scoring hard held by two lengths.
That stylish success earned him a crack at the Scottish Triumph Hurdle at Musselburgh a couple of weeks and he handled the step up to listed company in his stride, just needing to be shaken up to assert and win by a length and a half.
That race was run at a steady gallop which masked Afadil's superiority and, as the Timeform Large P symbol attached to his rating denotes, he looks capable of much better under the right circumstances.
The Timeform Flag
Ede'iffs Elton - 15:42 Wincanton
Horse In Focus, Horses For Courses, Top-Rated
All three of Ede'iffs Elton's victories have come at Wincanton, with the most recent achieved in this race 12 months ago.
He was beaten around ten lengths in fourth when last seen in a two-and-a-half-mile handicap chase here on Boxing Day, but he shaped better than that result would suggest, paying the price late on for setting a strong gallop.
Ede'iffs Elton, who has had a breathing operation since last seen, is now only 1 lb above his last winning mark and looks set to give a good account in search of a fourth course success.
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