The last weekend before Christmas offers some great racing, and it will be great to see Paisley Park again in the Marsh Hurdle at Ascot (14:25).

He is by far the best stayer around and shouldn’t be getting beaten here, despite the ground being desperate.

He looked to have improved when he ran at Newbury on his seasonal debut and, while he may hit a flat spot in the race, he’ll have too much for this field.

The Silver Cup (15:00) is a competitive field, but I do like the look of Paul Nicholls’ Give Me A Copper , who is having his second start of the season following his victory in the Badger Beers Chase at Wincanton in November.

He jumped very well that day and, being a fragile horse, he’ll love the cut in the ground, and Ascot is a course that should suit him well.

I really like Countister in the big Handicap Hurdle (15:35) for Barry Geraghty.

She was a superb third in the County Hurdle, showing she can cope with the hustle and bustle of a big handicap.

She ran well in the Greatwood on her reappearance last month, when she clearly needed the run, but she should come on plenty for it. This could have been the big early season target and it would be another success in the race for Nicky Henderson, who won this a few years ago with Brain Power.

The Betway Tommy Whittle Chase ay Haydock (14:40) will be some test of stamina.

You’re going to need to jump and stay all day and Top Wood does just that.

His jumping has improved with age and, despite being 12, he’s actually relatively lightly-raced.

I rode him in the Kim Muir a few years ago and we were absolutely tanking along at the top of the hill, but managed to end on the deck and didn’t make it much further!

If he gets into a good rhythm and runs to anywhere near the level of form he showed when winning at Aintree in April, then he’ll be bang there.

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