SAM HARDY

1. Mister Fisher 2. Kalashnikov 3. Melon

Trainer Nicky Henderson last won the race in 2012 with Riverside Theatre and has every chance of gaining another success this year with Mister Fisher. Still only seven, he was a game winner of the rerouted Peterborough Chase last time out at Cheltenham and finished only four lengths behind Samcro in last year’s Marsh Novices’ Chase. The Amy Murphy-trained Kalashnikov was an unlucky second in the Peterborough Chase and could again prove the main danger to the selection.