Monday tips: U Can’t Be Serious looks an ace

I hope everyone has had a restful weekend ahead of what is for any National Hunt Racing fan the best week of the year.

Sandown were not blessed with the biggest fields on Saturday, but nevertheless produce some good racing.

The Olly Murphy-trained Scorpio Rising has progressed with every run this season and the manner in which he won the EBF Final suggests that his progression is far from over.

He travelled beautifully through the race for champion jockey Sean Bowen before quickening up smartly to run out a very ready winner of what is traditionally a competitive race.

A strong, well put together horse, he's an exciting prospect for novice chases next season.

The feature race, The Imperial Cup, saw Mondo Man finally deliverer the type of performance that most knew he was capable of.

It's taken time for him to learn to race in a more efficient way since switching from the Flat and a mistake at the last highlighted his jumping frailty, but it largely all came together and his mark of 123 proved very lenient.

He now looks set to try and double up in the County Hurdle on Friday, with a £100,000 bonus on offer. Personally, I’ll be looking to oppose him as I think he had a hard enough race and finished tired.

Another young horse with a seemingly exciting future is Calymistic.

He made it two from over fences and looks the type to stay further. He is well worth adding to your Racing TV Tracker ahead of potentially bigger targets this spring.

His win was part of an across the card three-timer for Nicky Henderson. I mentioned in last week's column to keep an eye out for trainers that are hitting form and this sentiment definitely applies to the master of Seven Barrows - currently operating as an impressive 38% straight rate.

There are three Jumps meetings on Monday and I have selections at two of them. 

Phillip Hobbs and Johnson White's gelding has not been run since his November debut at Hereford where he finished third. 

That form has worked out well given he finished just nine lengths behind the runner-up, Aqua Bleu, who is now rated 126. 

Dakota Star made that debut in a tongue tie, which suggests connections had some concern over his breathing. He has since had wind surgery and on this sharp right-hand track, like Hereford, even the smallest step forward would see him competitive here. 

Started his chase career in the best possible way with two wins over 2m3f at Exeter. 

The manner of both victories suggested there should be more to come over longer trips. 

As yet that hasn't been the case and he's run below form on his past two starts. However, I could find valid excuses for both runs. The track and trip at Kempton might have proved too sharp for him, while last time out the ground at Newbury was particularly testing. 

The handicapper has given him a couple of pounds back and returned to a sound surface he's capable of bouncing back to form. 

It's fair to say Sam Drinkwater's gelding didn't show much on his seasonal return at Lingfield 

but I'm convinced that this is a horse who is at his very best on a sound surface. 

He has excellent form from Cheltenham in competitive class two handicaps over this trip, off marks in excess of 14lb more than the 101 he races off here. With the assistance of the excellent Kielan Woods, he can land this.