Iroko and Protektorat the star turns among Kelso entries

Randox Grand National favourite Iroko will face a maximum of seven rivals in the bet365 Premier Chase at Kelso on Saturday.

The JP McManus-owned eight-year-old chased home the top-class Grey Dawning in this three-mile Listed event last season, before going on to finish fourth as the market leader for the world’s greatest steeplechase in April.

Iroko, trained in partnership by Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero, again heads ante-post lists for the Aintree spectacular, having kicked off the current campaign with a runner-up finish behind subsequent King George hero The Jukebox Man at Haydock before claiming an impressive win at Ascot.

Grey Dawning’s trainer Dan Skelton again looks set to be represented in the Scottish borders, with stable stalwart Protektorat being readied for the long trip north.

Although in the twilight of his career at the age of 11, Protektorat proved he still has plenty to give when winning the lucrative Fleur de Lys Chase at Windsor last month and off a mark of 165 he is the highest-rated horse in the Kelso field.

The Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies-trained Matata is also in contention.

The most valuable race on the card is the £120,000 bet365 Morebattle Hurdle, for which 22 horses have stood their ground at the confirmation stage.

There would be no more popular winner than Cracking Rhapsody, who has claimed top honours in each of the past two seasons for Ewan Whillans, while I Started A Joke is a leading contender for Irish trainer Charles Byrnes.

Tom Dascombe’s Hot Fuss, Fergal O’Brien’s Serious Challenge and Spectacularsunrise – already a winner over the course and distance for the Twiston-Davies team – are others in the mix for what is always a fiercely competitive event.

The £80,000 bet365 Premier Novices’ Hurdle carries Grade Two status and has attracted 18 entries, including Ben Pauling’s Starmount, Patrick Neville’s The Last Cloud, the Skelton-trained Le Beau Madrik and Tom Lacey’s Challow Hurdle fourth Montemares.