BARTON can boost his Smurfit Champion Hurdle chances with victory at Cheltenham tomorrow.

Tim Easterby's charge is priced at around 10-1 for the hurdlers' crown after winning eight of his nine starts over timber.

The chestnut gelding's only defeat came last time out at Cheltenham in December when he was unsuited by the steady pace over two miles in the Bula Hurdle.

Restrained by Tony Dobbin as Mister Morose made the early running, Barton was produced to challenge approaching the final flight but was beaten for speed on the run-in by Geos, who had six lengths to spare at the line.

Barton, impressive winner of the 1999 Royal & SunAlliance Novices' Hurdle, missed all of last season through injury and returned with an easy success in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle.

The Bula was only his second race back and further improvement can be confidently expected.

The distance of an extended two miles and five furlongs in the Byrne Bros Cleeve Hurdle looks ideal for Barton, who will now be nearing his peak.

Whether or not he proves capable of taking Istabraq's crown only time will tell but he does look too good for his rivals in tomorrow's Grade One contest.

See More Business can repeat his win gained three years ago in the Pillar Property Chase.

Paul Nicholls' 11-year-old has been near the top of his profession for four seasons with victories in two King George VI Chases and a Cheltenham Gold Cup to his credit.

But he has also on occasions run below his best like last time for example when he finished a disappointing fifth behind First Gold when bidding for a third King George.

See More Business did not jump with his usual fluency that day and can be forgiven the run.

He is still a leading contender for the Gold Cup and success tomorrow would see him vying for favouritism with First Gold for chasing's blue riband event.

At Doncaster the Pertemps Great Yorkshire Chase looks a wide-open affair and it could pay to take a chance with Ad Hoc to land this £40,000 contest.

The highly-regarded Ad Hoc - trained like See More Business by Nicholls - has been a disappointment so far this season falling on both his starts.

He looked likely to make a winning reappearance at Wincanton in November only to come to grief at the last.

And next time the seven-year-old was travelling strongly on the heels of the leaders in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Newbury when he fell at the fifth last.

It was too early to say Ad Hoc would have won but he would certainly have been in with a shout.

Sure to have been well schooled since, Ad Hoc still has the potential to be a smart performer and can pop up in tomorrow's hot handicap.