After the brilliance and the drama of the Cheltenham Festival it's the bravery and lung-bursting action of the Midlands National that takes centre stage at Uttoxeter this afternoon.

Twenty runners will line up at 3.50 for this extended four-mile handicap chase on ground that was described as soft on Thursday night but is drying out all the time.

We could be racing on good to soft going by the time of the off and that has to be the major factor here after a similar drying scenario in 2013.

That won't be music to the ears of Kim Bailey who provides the top weight in the form of Denman Chase winner Harry Topper, a mud reveller of the highest order.

He has to give 19lb and upwards to his 19 rivals, but the more the ground dries out the harder his task will be.

On top of that he had a very hard race at Newbury and the value is to look elsewhere for an each-way play.

Despite having only raced 28 days ago in testing ground conditions in the Grand National Trial at Haydock, it could be Loch Ba's day in the sun for Mick Channon.

He ran a strange race that afternoon, racing prominently early then on losing his pitch and looked likely to be pulled up on the final circuit before passing nine horses down the home straight to finish fourth.

He obviously loses concentration in a race so the first-time visor is being fitted and his amateur rider takes 7lb off which only leaves him 2lbs out of the handicap.

There are plenty of alternatives if like me you want to oppose the top weight and I certainly wouldn't put anybody off the chance of Fill The Power who has had quite a light season but is progressing at exactly the right time having finished fifth in last year's Scottish National.

He has a 9lb penalty for an emphatic success in the mud at Wetherby last time out over an extended three miles, but his claimer takes 3lb off and he looks made for this severe stamina test. He could be worth an each-way saver.

Are Ya Right Chief is the other interesting one off 10 stone with Ruby riding. He has looked very slow to date so you would suspect this race was made for him.

I thought that Tracking Time was an interesting raider for the Tony Martin camp in the 2.05, while later on take a second look at Irish Buccaneer having his first start in the best part of a year in the 3.15.

Elsewhere, Elsafeer (3.40 Fontwell) can make his light weight tell while up at Newcastle I think that Northern Aces (4.10) is handicapped to go very close at a price.