Boxing Day tips: Martin Dixon is hoping Dreams come true

Ruth Jefferson's mare had a very consistent first season over hurdles last year, rounding off with an excellent second in the Challenger Series Mares' Final at Cheltenham, and after two stiff tasks so far this year I'm expecting her to return to her best and be much more competitive again back against her own sex. Crystal Glance remains ominously well handicapped against her but Lavida Adiva may just be the stronger stayer of the pair. 

Winner of the Grade Two bumper at the Grand National meeting at Aintree in 2023, there's still a sense of unfinished business about Florida Dreams over hurdles and both starts those season have been positive, winning at Hexham prior to finishing fifth in the red-hot Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham last time. He's overdue a try at this two-and-a-half-mile trip and we saw on Saturday that Nicky Richards' stable are in top form.

You may recall me tipping Inis Oirr at Ascot a month ago and for the first half of the race I was delighted with the rhythm he got into on the front end but a blunder at the sixteenth completely did for him, soon losing his position and pulling up. He's dropped a further 3 lb for that and this is a weaker race so I'm going in again given I was happy he looked in top form up until that race-ending error last time. 

We saw last season when L'homme Presse defeated Protektorat at Lingfield in January just how adept Venetia Williams is at getting him to peak when fresh and he followed that with two cracking efforts in defeat, firstly to Ascot-specialist Pic D'orhy on him home ground and then only weakening into fourth late on having mixed it with Galopin Des Champs and Gerri Colombe for much of the Gold Cup. I think this 3m test around Kempton is close to an optimum for him and I'm happy to back him each way at odds of 9/1 and bigger at the time of writing.