Topolski is pencilled in for a warm-up run on the level before chasing handicap hurdle glory later in the autumn.

David Arbuthnot has his sights set on the Grand National meeting at Aintree with unbeaten hurdler Topolski.

David Arbuthnot already has one eye on next season with Pere Blanc and Shuil Royale after seeing the pair continue their progression with victories at Kempton.

Tropical Strait put up a game performance to hold The Betchworth Kid in the £2m (€2.4m) totescoop6 November Handicap at Doncaste

Coda Agency trotted up in the two-mile Higgs International Handicap at Lingfield but trainer David Arbuthnot is planning to return the five-year-old to his favoured game over hurdles.

David Arbuthnot will rely solely on Tropical Strait in Saturday’s valuable betfred.com Old Borough Cup Stakes at Haydock after ruling Desert Sea out of the race.

Oscar Park was found to have broken a blood vessel when trailing home last behind Hills Of Aran over hurdles at Cheltenham on Tuesday.

RICHARD JOHNSON remains mystified over Detroit City’s poor performance in the Champion Hurdle – but hopes to redress the balance at Aintree next month.

RICHARD JOHNSON remains mystified over Detroit City’s poor performance in the Champion Hurdle – but hopes to redress the balance at Aintree next month.

Gaming company 888 Holdings was facing more questions over its overseas operations today after it emerged French authorities wanted to interview its former chief executive John Anderson.

A CLOSE friend of Irish-born hostage Margaret Hassan said the sight of her crying on the kidnapper’s video was “really bad” because she was a woman who was frightened of nothing.

Shares in beleaguered engineering group Jarvis lost another third of their value today following last week’s news that the company could breach its banking covenants.

With no major UK companies reporting results this week, the spotlight will move on to the FTSE 250 Index and give the minnows a chance to shine.