Special Rate on the Festival menu

Alan King has plenty of Cheltenham Festival material among his in-form string and at Leicester yesterday was more than happy to look ahead to the season's premier jumps meeting.

His stable's recent good run continued when the consistent Special Rate landed the extended 2-mile novice hurdle under Jimmy McCarthy.

After the seven-year-old claimed his first win over timber in the opening event, King said: "We have not had him that long. We got him from Ire land and he is still very green, but he is a lovely horse for next year.

"We will just teach him his job this year - but we will give him a SunAlliance Hurdle entry. The race closes on Wednesday and we will see what happens."

Sir Talbot brought memories flooding back for an emotional Jim Old as the 10-year-old got back on the winning trail in the novice chase.

Leighton Aspell brought the 100-30 joint-favourite with a storming late challenge to catch fellow market leader Old Marsh and score by a neck to record his first win since the County Hurdle at the 1999 Cheltenham Festival.

The next year he was trained for the Champion Hurdle, but Old said: "Timmy (Murphy) was just giving him a pop the day before [when] he stood off too far and took the worst fall I have ever seen. He broke his pelvis."

That put Sir Talbot out for two years and, Old recalled, "when he came back he might have beaten Baracouda in the Rendlesham Hurdle at Kempton if he had not fallen two out - then he fell in the Stayers' Hurdle. But it is new career for him over fences now. We are not getting ambitious, he wants good ground and there are some nice races for him in the spring."

The leading fancy World Wide Web was last night confirmed a likely runner in Saturday's Singer & Friedlander National Trial Chase at Uttoxeter.

Frank Berry, racing manager to the gelding's owner, JP McManus, said that the eight-year-old is set to head for the Midlands track rather than take up an alternative engagement in the Skybet Chase at Doncaster on the same day.

Berry said: "He will probably go to Uttoxeter. There's no particular reason for going there, we just think the ground and the trip might suit him a bit better. He's never actually been beyond three miles before but that's not too much of a worry as he's in good form and we're expecting a good run."

Another on course for the £70,000 event at Uttoxeter is Nicky Henderson's Hersov.

The promising eight-year-old will be having only his fifth run over fences but Roy David, racing manager to owner Michael Watt, feels the currently heavy ground will suit.