Rees Jones,1619 Open Hunters' Chase

Won small-field hunter chases on good ground at Catterick (3m1f) and Ludlow (2m4f) last month; lost out to only the odds-on favourite at Kempton (2m4f, good) three weeks ago and, although the scale of his defeat was a bit worrying, his good record here (won the last three of his four visits) bolsters his chance today.

It's possible to forgive his last two races, as 2m at Leicester was too short and Aintree was always going to be a stiff task; a return to career-best form last April-June when winning two hunter chases and a handicap (2m4f-2m6f) would make this look manageable.

Dual point winner who took a 3m Southwell hunter chase last March to kick off a solid sequence, including second at Taunton this February; no show on latest start, not surprisingly given it was at Cheltenham (66-1) but others have the edge on form in this line-up.

Career highlight when winning the Becher Chase at Aintree (3m2f, good to soft) in December 2022; pulled up four times in a row in good handicaps before tailing off last March on final outing for Dan Skelton; wore cheekpieces last two starts and has them today; hard to beat on his old form and the betting moves should give clues about what remains.

Ran well on sole visit here; made a respectable return to action in December after 581 days off but pulled up next time and fair fourth at Southwell early last month would surely not be good enough.