Scottish Cheltenham Trials Raceday at Musselburgh Tips

The build up to the Cheltenham Festival is well underway and this fantastic meeting is the pinnacle of the jumps season at Musselburgh, which has once again drawn in Britain's top trainers with more than £400,000 up for grabs.

Day one on Saturday has quality action to look forward to, with the Scottish Triumph Hurdle (13.42) kicking off proceedings, followed by the Scottish County Handicap Hurdle (14.17) and Scottish Champion Chase (14.50).

There are six races in all at Musselburgh on Saturday and we have selected our best bets.

13:42 - Scottish Triumph Hurdle (Listed, 1m7½f)

Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls picked up NARDARAN for a hefty €135,000 at the Arqana Summer Sale on behalf of a syndicate and the Aga Khan-bred son of Waldgeist is likely to be a much better horse than what we have seen from him in two starts to date. Third on his sole start in France over 1m4f at Saint-Cloud, the gelding made his British debut over 2m at Kempton over the Christmas period. He travelled really well through his race and traded very short in running, but it was evident that he needed the run and he faded into fourth late on. Nicholls has won this race five times since 2013 and this boy could be another.

Selection: Nardaran

14:17 - Scottish County Handicap Hurdle (1m7½f)

Nicholls had four winners on this card last year and one of them was AFADIL, who is back down to a very dangerous mark now and could be poised to strike. The six-year-old son of Camelot won this contest off 124 last year, and recent poor showings have ensured that he is now down to a lenient mark of 120. A leap of faith is required as he was beaten out of sight at Southwell when last seen but the ground was bottomless on the day and he is much more effective on a sounder surface.

Selection: Afadil

14:50 - Scottish Champion Chase (2m4½f)

Irish trainer Paul Flynn sends three raiders across the Irish Sea for Saturday's card and one of the more interesting ones is THE BIG CHAP, a classy chaser who certainly has the ability to go well in this contest. He was below his best when pulled up in a Listed handicap at Limerick during Christmas, but the form of his penultimate third at Navan reads well. Back in fourth was Music Of Tara who since won a competitive handicap hurdle and this strong-travelling type might not be far away here.

Selection: The Big Chap

15:22 - Scottish Stayers' Novices' Hurdle (3m)

A select field but nonetheless a good renewal here and John McConnell's Irish raider INTENSE APPROACH should be up to the job. The six-year-old has won three of his last four starts over hurdles, beating a Willie Mullins-trained runner by 15 lengths at Downpatrick in August before following up in style at Kelso. The form of his Grade 2 Persian War runner-up finish has worked out well and he was really impressive when bolting up at Cheltenham when upped to 3m for the first time.

Selection: Intense Approach

15:57 - Handicap Chase (2m7½f)

Handicaps are typically competitive but this could turn out to be one-way traffic if BOOMSLANG can continue his fine run of form for Rebecca Menzies. It took him a long while to get going but he got off the mark over hurdles at Cartmel last summer. However, he has been a revelation since being sent chasing, landing a gamble on chase bow at Downpatrick in October and winning twice since at Carlisle and here last time out on New Year's Day. Cajoled along here last time, he had to dig deep to win, but the step back up in trip will be a big help.

Selection: Boomslang

16:27 - Handicap Hurdle (1m7½f)

SCOTS POET won this contest two years ago and nearly always goes well at this track. Ewan Whillans' nine-year-old had a wind operation off the back of a poor run at Perth in August and he is now 4lb below his last winning mark. He needed the run at Doncaster on his first run after the surgery, but ran with much more zest when third over course and distance on New Year's Day. Given quite a soft ride on the day, this is a drop in class and if he can bounce back to anywhere near his best form, he should win.

Selection: Scots Poet

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Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation