Permit holder John Needham hopes to have the last laugh when he takes on the big boys with Another Joker at Cheltenham on Saturday.

GRAHAM LEE will team up with You’re Special for the first time on Saturday as trainer Ferdy Murphy chases a £250,000 bonus in the Betfred Gold Cup.

Leighton Aspell will ride Peter Bowen’s Ballycassidy in the John Smith’s Grand National at Aintree on Saturday.

HEDGEHUNTER is a general 4-1 favourite with the English firms, although Irish bookmakers Cashmans and Paddy Power buck the trend with a 5-1 offer, to land back-to-back runnings of the John Smith’s Grand National after heading the list of 84 horses left in the Aintree spectacular at the five-day confirmation stage.

Last year’s John Smith’s Grand National hero Hedgehunter tops 84 horses left in Saturday’s Aintree feature at the five-day stage.

Timmy Murphy has nominated It Takes Time as his likely John Smith’s Grand National mount, leaving Richard Johnson to partner Therealbandit.

RICHARD JOHNSON is set to ride either It Takes Time or Therealbandit in the John Smith’s Grand National at Aintree on Saturday week.

Richard Johnson is set to ride either It Takes Time or Therealbandit in the John Smith’s Grand National at Aintree on Saturday week.

WILLIE MULLINS will leave a decision on Hedgehunter’s participation in the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup until nearer next month’s Festival.

An unprecedented 1034 entries have been revealed for the 10 handicap events at the Cheltenham Festival.

Monkerhostin has been allocated top-weight of 11st 12lb for the John Smith’s Grand National by senior British Horseracing Board jumps handicapper Phil Smith.

LAST YEAR’S winner Hedgehunter heads a healthy entry of 148 for the John Smith’s Grand National at Aintree on April 8.

Paul Nicholls has a powerful 10-strong team entered in the John Smith’s Grand National as he continues his quest for his first trainers’ championship.

IRISH mare Asian Maze and Howard Johnson’s No Refuge head the 18 entries for the Byrne Bros Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday.

Baron Windrush is not yet certain to bid for back-to-back victories in Saturday’s totesport Classic Chase at Warwick.

Our Vic tops a list of 23 horses left in Saturday’s Robin Cook Memorial Gold Cup at the five-day confirmation stage.

Philip Hobbs is hoping either Monkerhostin or Lacdoudal can spoil the Paddy Power Gold Cup party for Martin Pipe tomorrow.

TODAY’S Betfred Gold Cup at Sandown looks increasingly like being the pivotal event in the trainers’ championship race, with Martin Pipe and Paul Nicholls responsible for over half the field in the final big event of the jumps season.

MOSCOW FLYER thrilled the crowds at Aintree yesterday as he put in a hugely impressive display to take the Grade One John Smith’s Melling Chase.

Moscow Flyer thrilled the crowds at Aintree today as he put in a hugely impressive display to take the Grade One John Smith’s Melling Chase.

The participation of Grey Abbey in the totesport Gold Cup on Friday remains in the balance, despite the front-running grey being one of 16 declared for the blue riband today.

Kicking King will miss the Cheltenham Festival after returning an unsatisfactory scope this morning.

Kicking King, winner of the King George VI Chase, heads 39 entries for the inaugural Daily Telegraph Festival Trophy Chase at Cheltenham.

GOLD CUP hopeful Grey Abbey will be out to stir the emotions with another bold front-running display in the Pillar Property Chase at Cheltenham today.

Owner David Johnson could be double-handed in Saturday’s Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock with both Therealbandit and It Takes Time.

Baracouda remains the 7-4 favourite with the sponsors for the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at Cheltenham.

TRAINER Tom Taaffe reports Kicking King to be “100 per cent” ahead of his big test in the Stan James King George VI Chase on St Stephen’s Day.

A total of 13 horses stood their ground for the Stan James King George VI Chase at Kempton Park following today’s final declaration stage.

RUBY WALSH has opted to ride Azertyuiop instead of stable companion and second-favourite Le Roi Miguel in Sunday’s Stan James King George VI Chase at Kempton Park.

Paul Nicholls is to delay a decision on Azertyuiop’s participation in the Stan James King George VI Chase until Thursday morning, when final declarations for Sunday’s showpiece are made.

EDREDON BLEU is likely to bid for a repeat win in the Stan James King George VI Chase at Kempton on Sunday with stable companion Best Mate swerving the race despite being left in at yesterday’s five-day declaration stage.

CHRISTMAS plans for Azertyuiop remain uncertain as Paul Nicholls considers whether to step his star two-miler up in distance for the Stan James King George VI Chase at Kempton on St Stephen's Day.

Timmy Murphy’s appeal against a seven-day ban picked up at Plumpton on Monday will not be heard tomorrow, officials at the Jockey Club have confirmed.

TIMMY MURPHY is set to appeal against the seven-day ban he incurred for throwing his whip at his mount Semi Precious at Plumpton on Monday.

David Johnson has warned punters to hold their bets on Our Vic for the Stan James King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

MARTIN PIPE holds a strong hand in the bonusprint.com Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Saturday after leaving five horses in the showpiece handicap at yesterday’s five-day confirmation stage.

Champion owner David Johnson today declared his Paddy Power Gold Cup winner Celestial Gold firmly on target for next Saturday's Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Newbury.

Best Mate has been installed as the 3-1 favourite with sponsors Stan James for the King George VI Chase at Kempton on St Stephen's Day.

Ante-post favourite Celestial Gold heads a total of 30 horses still in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Newbury on Saturday week after the latest forfeit stage.

THEREALBANDIT is the new favourite for the Hennessy Gold Cup as punters piled into Martin Pipe’s charge following the publication of the weights yesterday.

Pat Keane

Martin Pipe has decided against running Therealbandit in the totesport Silver Trophy Handicap Hurdle at Chepstow on Saturday.

Best Mate is a top-priced 9-4 with Coral to land a fourth tote sport Cheltenham Gold Cup after emulating the mighty Arkle with a third victory in the great race yesterday.

Tony McCoy is hopeful that the relative inexperience of Therealbandit will not count against him in the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup tomorrow.

David Johnson has yet to decide which race his star novice Therealbandit will tackle at the Cheltenham Festival.

OWNER David Johnson yesterday refused to rule out a tilt at the Tote Cheltenham Gold with his promising novice Therealbandit.

Owner David Johnson today refused to rule out a tilt at the Tote Cheltenham Gold with his promising novice Therealbandit.

Owner David Johnson has warned punters that his promising novice Therealbandit is unlikely to tackle the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup in March.

BEST MATE remains odds-on across the board to win an historic third Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup following the publication of the entries yesterday.