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THE Cheltenham Festival may only be a month away, but there are still some big prizes to be won leading up to those magnificent four days and this week Haydock Park and Ascot lead the way with a nice mix of graded and handicap action.

The latter category always interests me the most and the 10-runner, class one handicap Chase (3.00) at Ascot has a lovely betting shape to it with course and distance winner Victtorino likely to go off favourite, and a worthy one he is too. But the six-year-old will need a career best effort off a mark of 146 to win his third race from four starts this season, and there are better-value plays further down the betting list and indeed weights.

Once the first few fences down the far side have been safely negotiated then Larry should have a say in proceedings off his light weight, while Do Your Job won nicely at Wetherby last time out and still has a workable handicap mark. However, I shall be having a serious each-way play on SHAN BLUE who has taken time to come to himself, but showed his turn was just around the corner when staying on nicely behind Triple Trade over two-and-a-half miles here last time out.

Beaten a mere three-quarters-of-a-length that day, he has only been put up a single pound for that effort and is sure to relish the faster pace over an extra four furlongs here. Anything in the vicinity of 7/1 should be grabbed and held onto.

The biggest field on the card is the two-and-a-half-mile handicap hurdle at 2.25 and many of the 16-horse entry will be using this as a warm-up for one of the handicaps at Prestbury Park, most probably the Premier Handicap race, but this is a decent price in its own right. I’m not convinced that Rare Edition will go off favourite here after he won a race with little strength in depth to it at Kempton Park and I am firmly in the camp of IN THE AIR (nb) at an absolutely massive price.

Having his first run for trainer Adam West, the selection has failed to have even been in distant sight of the judge on his last two starts over fences after jumping like a dog, but the return to this spring ground over hurdles could be a huge turning point for this still unexposed sort who is only a pound above his last winning mark. Teddy Blue, almost certainly better than he showed last time out in the Lanzarote Hurdle, is taken to reverse that Kempton Park form with Jay Jay Reilly.

Of the feature graded races, there is little doubt that the drying ground will be perfect for Pic D’Orhy as he bids to go one step better than 12 months ago in the Ascot Chase at 3.36, but he may not have his own way up front here with Ahoy Senor in the field.

The drop down to 2m5f for the last named is interesting and a big run here will see him re-routed from the Gold Cup to the shorter Festival Trophy, but both may be eclipsed by L’HOMME PRESSE who has the high cruising speed to track both of these pressers/front runners and pick them off down the short home straight, and showed his well being with a smooth success at Lingfield Park last time out.

Of course the Venetia Williams-trained charge won’t be much of a price, but EXMOOR FOREST will be in the staying handicap hurdle due off at 4.10.

Nigel Hawke’s charge has undergone a wind operation and following his first run back at Exeter (keen and needed the run), now may well be the time to catch him off his current rating of just 106. The drying ground will also play to his strengths, won his maiden hurdle on good, and he could just be the fly in the ointment for the likes of Mt Fugi Park and Loup De Maulde.

BRAVE KINGDOM is preferred to Apple Away in the Grade Two Reynoldstown Chase at 1.50, while I will also throw a couple of quid at BUCKSY DES ESPEIRES in the opening novice hurdle at 1.15.

Over at Haydock Park the big betting race will be the extended three-and-a-half-mile Grand National Trial Handicap Chase at 3.15, and many of the entries have met each other several times this season.

Several of those at the top of the handicap need some mercy from the assessor and that leads me in the direction of CREDO, who was a huge eye-catcher when staying on into third in the Warwick Classic last month. The seven-year-old is three from 10 over fences and placed in four other of those starts and has actually been dropped a pound for that run. He can reverse recent course form with Famous Bridge, who in turn can safely be forgiven his last start at Doncaster in the Great Yorkshire Chase when the ground was way too fast for him, and I was actually hugely surprised that his esteemed trainer didn’t pull him out that day.

My other main bet at the Merseyside track has to be LORD SNOOTIE in the Hurdle Qualifier at 3.50. He ran way too freely out in front at Wincanton last time out when battered in the betting ring, but has to be better than that if Nick Schofield can get him to settle. That would give him a massive chance of seeing off the likes of Punta Del Este and Cuthbert Dibble.