Rachel Candelora's top tips for Wednesday: James Street for one-way traffic

There was a great afternoon of jumps racing at Kempton last Saturday with highlights including Top Notch making an impressive return to fences in the Listed Chase and Jonjo O’Neill Jr’s ride on Big Time Dancer to win the Lanzarote Hurdle.

But for me, the performances of Mercian Prince and Bailarico are the ones to follow going forward as they now have Festival targets – just not at Cheltenham.

Mercian Prince jumped like a buck to record a second successive victory in the 2m 4½f handicap chase and afterwards the Topham at the Grand National Meeting was nominated as his main target.

Bailarico, meanwhile, was given a midsummer goal of the 2m 41/2f handicap at Glorious Goodwood by Warren Greatrex. Get the pair in your Racing TV trackers!

Chris Gordon has two runners in the opening handicap hurdle at Newbury on Wednesday and both have a chance, but Volpone Jelois is the pick.

Bought for £20,000 out of Paul Nicholls’ yard last autumn, he made his stable debut on heavy ground at Lingfield and ran better than the bare form indicates.

The six-year-old gelding got stuck in the mud before staying on again towards the end of the race and the winner, The Gipper, has won again since.

The good ground will suit him as his one success over hurdles was on good going at Taunton and most of his winning UK Flat form was also on such a surface.

Owner and amateur rider David Maxwell partners him for the first time.

A competitive three-year-old handicap opens the Lingfield card, where a field of eight go to post and all of them are trying this 10f distance for the first time.

One horse who is making his handicap debut and has shown in the past that a step up in trip might suit is Water’s Edge, whose dam is related to Ransom O’War a Group One 10f German winner.

His best run was on his second start over the extended mile at Wolverhampton, where he was allowed to chase the pace before staying on to just miss by three-quarters of a length.

His last run can be forgiven as Adam Kirby rushed him up from a wide draw at Lingfield, using too much early, and he faded out of it.

Here, from an inside draw, PJ McDonald should be able to get a good, early position and Water’s Edge should be a good price as the market is focusing too heavily on the Ryan Moore-ridden Debbonair.

This three-year-old 6f handicap has a small but select field and James Street jumps off the page after his short-head second to No Nonsense last time out at Kempton.

This son of Gale Force Ten finished in front of several of Wednesday’s rivals and is either better off, or on the same terms, weight wise as that was a conditions race.

James Street himself is looking for a fourth career win and on the form of his novice win at Kempton two starts ago, when he was giving a stone away to his rivals, he should be hard to beat.

Since the introduction of veterans’ chases, ten-year-olds have prospered and that augurs well for Wizards Bridge.

This race appears to be much easier, on paper, then those he has been contesting, including the Silver Buck Handicap at Wincanton and the Southern National at Fontwell.

Based on the form of his back-to-back wins at the end of last season, Wizards Bridge should have a great chance for the in-form Colin Tizzard and he will get the good ground that he craves.