CLEAR VIEUX IN WELSH FEATURE

JACOBS’ Crackers Five-time Naps Table champ Moorestyle’s best bets…

MARTIN PIPE won the Welsh Grand National five times – and now it’s time for son David to carry on that great family tradition.

He can land Thursday’s marathon event with VIEUX LION ROUGE.

The key will be the ground and the forecasts suggest it will not be bottomless going.

That will hinder some of the market leaders that are pure sloggers but not the

2016 Becher Chase hero who prefers a slightly better surface.

On his return to Aintree at the beginning of the month, the nine-year-old showed that the fire still burns bright with a running on second and he gets to race from the same handicap mark here, so

20-1 seems a value punting shout.

Of his rivals, I am not sure Welsh National Trial Chase winner Ramses De Teillee will see out the extra yardage, while the likes of Baie des Iles and Folsom Blue probably want deeper ground.

That leaves last year’s third and fourth, Final Nudge and Vintage Clouds, as the biggest dangers to the selection.

With little rain forecast for Kempton Park, I have a strong fancy for THISTLECRACK to regain his King George VI title on Boxing Day and I also see 16-1 shot Clan Des Obeaux out-running his odds.

But the horse I am most looking forward to at Kempton is the four-yearold EPATANTE if he lines up for the opening novice hurdle at 12.50.

The son of No Risk At All dotted up over the course and distance last time out and is my long-term fancy for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

ANTE-POST

I LOVE an ante-post bet on the Foxhunters at Cheltenham and although he has been well backed, I am happy to invest in 8-1 shot GILGAMBOA.

The last time he ran at the Festival, the 10-year-old was fifth to Vautour in the Ryanair Chase – enough said!