What today's Haydock Park cards lacks in quantity is more than made up by the sheer quality of the seven-race card, and the pick of the bunch is Relkeel in the Red Square Energising Champion Hurdle Trial.
This Grade Two event has been won in recent years by three of today's five runners, with the 1995 success of Relkeel being followed by Dato Star's victory in 1998 and Master Beveled last year.
Quite how many times Relkeel would have taken the event had injury not intervened is open to question but Alan King's charge, who could be part of a treble for the trainer, showed on his seasonal debut that he is probably as good as ever.
In landing his third Bula Hurdle at Cheltenham, Relkeel showed he had not lost his zest for the game despite the problems which have plagued his career. He beat the Martin Pipetrained Far Cry on that occasion, his turn of foot on the run-in proving the key factor in his neck success.
Meeting that rival on the same terms, he should be able to confirm his superiority, however, he will need to be at his best to deny Dato Star.
The King treble should be instigated by Anzum who is the stand out bet in the Grade Two Tote Exacta Long Distance Hurdle and completed by Toto Toscato in the Birchwood Novices' Chase.
At Kempton, the £33,000 Lanzarote Hurdle is an openlooking contest but can go to the improving House Of Dreams.
