Wayne Bailey / 25 February 2009 Free Bet

Punters have been a little slow to get involved, but the money is finally starting to arrive on Betfair for the Cheltenham World Hurdle, and Nicky Henderson's Zaynar is now the ante-post favourite at [5.4].The son of Daylami has made it two wins from as many races this season, but his jumping was far from perfect last-time-out at Ascot, and some caution is advised.

Barry Geraghty has just done some work on the gelding at Kempton, and Henderson seemed reasonably pleased afterwards: "He wants pace but it's all there and he keeps picking up and picking up like he did at Ascot. Barry said Ascot didn't suit him as well as Newbury. He is lazy and probably a bit inexperienced but he jumps".

Previously, he beat second favourite Walkon at Newbury, but that horse has since won two races in fine style (one at Cheltenham) and may well have improved enough to reverse the placings come March 13th. Trainer Alan King has a good record in this race, and the yard is said to be excited about the horse's future: "I couldn't be more pleased with his progress mentally and physically and he would compare favourably with the likes of Penzance and Franchoek in recent years. I am very excited about him" he said recently.

Starluck has seen some support and is fairly solid at odds of [7.80]. He's built a nice little picket fence next to his name this season and usually travels strongly. He looks like an improver and his current odds seem a little on the high side.

Master Of Arts, Ebadiyan and Jumbo Rio have seen a small bit of support within the [12.0] and [14.0] price bracket, but betting has been light for the rest of the field, priced [22.0] and upwards.

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