Martin Dixon: Sounds so sweet in Albert Bartlett

It's easy to make strong cases for the likes of Kargese, Lark In The Mornin and Absurde at the front end of the market but at much bigger odds Irish Panther has been overlooked and I'm backing him each way with 20/1 available at the time of writing. 

He's still a maiden, admittedly, but along the way he's shown a lot of talent and has bumped into some top-class rivals, including placed efforts in bumpers to both Fact To File and Ballyburn. 

Formerly trained by Edward O'Grady, Irish Panther's form has taken an upturn again in a couple of outings for Eddie & Patrick Harty, including an encouraging third behind Macauley at the DRF last time. He sneaks in here off a very light weight, with Cian Cullinan taking off an extra 7lbs. 

Also at 20/1 is Pinot Gris, who has progressed markedly fitted with headgear on his recent starts. His latest second at Leopardstown is strong form with the fourth-placed Gaucher having won in Grade 3 company since and looking at the pace map it's possible his prominent tactics could be an advantage in a smaller field than you'd expect in a County Hurdle. 

This three-mile novice hurdle is a race that's thrown up surprise winners on a regular basis - ten of the last eleven winners have returned an SP of 11/1 or bigger - and I think that's because the demands of the race are so different to what these novices have contested earlier in the season. 

Sounds Victorius - a 22/1 shot when writing - mixed it with the best bumper horses last year, finishing fifth in the Champion Bumper here and fourth in the Grade One at Punchestown - and he's always given the impression that stamina is his biggest asset. 

He was a creditable fifth behind stablemate Final Demand at the DRF, again shaping like a step up in trip would suit, and I think his first try at three miles in what should be a well-run affair will trigger improvement.  

Kopeck De Mee may well live up to the hype and be miles ahead of his mark but there's a lot of guesswork involved and to me he's not a betting proposition. No Ordinary Joe, also owned by J.P McManus, really grabbed my attention when working for Racing TV at Warwick last month.

I noted in the paddock beforehand that I thought he was carrying plenty of condition still, yet he went on to finish an encouraging fourth, and having finished second to the very progressive Iroko in this contest two years ago I think connections have always had this race in mind. 

He's now 1lb lower than he was that day, a first-time tongue tie could have a positive impact, and experienced conditional Freddie Gingell is a good jockey booking.