Tidal Flow can lead Johnson challenge

Champion jockey Richard Johnson begins the day 17 winners behind the leader in the title race, Brian Hughes, having managed to claw back one more yesterday, and heads to Newbury today for six mounts. Hughes is at Kelso, where he too is involved in six races.

Perhaps Johnson’s best chance of maintaining his momentum comes in the 1st Class Logistics Novice Chase (4.25), in which he partners Tidal Flow, a progressive and unexposed chaser, who could well have things his own way out in front.

Hughes, who has endured a lean spell by his standards during the past fortnight, has obvious chances in at least three races at Kelso, and I rate Clondaw Caitlin, whose form is looking better all the time, and who gets weight from all her rivals in the Premier Novices’ Hurdle (2.45), as the pick of them.

Trainer Nicky Henderson, who is clearly still irked by his run-in with the British Horseracing Authority over Altior’s non-participation in a race last month, stated yesterday that Unibet Champion Hurdle hope Epatante is on course for Cheltenham. On Thursday Henderson had tweeted that the ante-post favourite for the Champion Hurdle had coughed earlier in the week.

He said: “I can tell you Epatante didn’t cough today. That is the official line. We are forced to say these things before somebody gets it out – and then it is headline news.

“Unfortunately, we have to say it before it leaks out and it is drifting [in the market]. You virtually have to let everyone know before she has even coughed!

“But that is what they are making you do. She has not coughed this morning and we are all on course.”

Officials at Chepstow have abandoned Monday’s card owing to waterlogging. The track experienced 25 millimetres of rain yesterday and there is further heavy rain forecast over the weekend.