Tote Ten To Follow Competition: Johnny Ward makes his choices

Turned over at 1-4 on his Rules debut, he won by 18 lengths at Downpatrick and on his hurdling debut at Down Royal he looked closer to the real deal. I love his sire, Fame And Glory, and he may well want a trip (half-brother to a three-mile hurdle winner) but at the moment he may he more of a Supreme type. High-class prospect.

A superb novice, he reappeared when second to A Plus Tard in December, before winning readily at the Dublin Racing Festival. He was about as infuriating an unbeaten ante-post bet as one can get in being a late Queen Mother Champion Chase non-runner ahead of a race that completely fell apart. As an eight-year-old, going on nine, he'll be bidding to make up for lost time; the two-mile division hardly looks too hot.

Something of a forgotten horse, the same connections' Saint Roi is much more talked about, but one should remember how well he was travelling in the Supreme, albeit a basket-case Supreme. He ran very well behind Envoi Allen earlier in the season. There's a lot of class there and he's trained by Willie Mullins.

A pretty obvious one, he has yet to come close to defeat, and his jumping on his chase debut at Down Royal was a thing of beauty. Barry Geraghty rode him work recently, describing him as a "Rolls-Royce". It is hard to see how he will be beaten this season, even though there's usually more of a likelihood of things going wrong than one would think. The type of horse that the jumps game needs.

Last year's Cheltenham Bumper winner, he tended to be too keen, but a hood did him wonders. He really wants an obstacle in front of him, a great settler for horses like that. He's really strong and will presumably avoid Ballyadam, both very high-class prospects. I could see him winning the Ballymore, like the owners' Envoi Allen did last year.

A really likeable mare, I'd probably have sent her over fences this season, but she stays hurdling. She may go chasing at some stage but is to start off in the Hatton's Grace. She's probably not quite yet reached the ceiling of her abiility and she loves winning.

A cracking novice last year, in some respects he was the moral winner of the RSA Chase, when Champ came from out of the clouds. He was utterly brilliant on his return at Wexford. He'll rarely meet his Gold Cup rivals in Ireland and he can make hay, potentially winning the Gold Cup thereafter.

Of course I backed him in the Stayers' Hurdle but we can forgive him that (if not me). My sole British-trained representative in this list, he's still the class act in staying hurdle races, and should pick up plenty of points this season.

A gorgeous leggy horse, he won his maiden hurdle before finishing third to Envoi Allen and Easywork (subsequent maiden chase winner) in the Ballymore, shaping like a very nice chasing prospect. He should make up into a top-class sort for Willie Mullins over perhaps two and a half or three miles. He'll likely be avoiding Envoi Allen.

Looking at the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle to take place on Gold Cup day, I texted a good judge prior to writing about my idea of the winner and his response was that the selection "is certainly slow enough to win the race". This can be a bit of a slog and the classier horses tend to avoid it.

Keith Donoghue, a well-respected judge, has said he is quite sweet on Eskylane for the three-mile race and he was sent off a hot favourite at Navan on Sunday but it was another horse from that race, the For Auction Novice Hurdle, that I like for the Albert Bartlett.

Eskylane was disappointing, finding little, in contrast to Wide Receiver, who was badly outpaced in a muddling contest at the second-last, looking as though he too would watch the principles sail away in the manner of a crying mother at the harbour.

Instead, he rattled home into third, closing in an eye-catching manner towards the finish, and he looks all over a horse who wants more experience and a trip.