AS the pinnacle of jump racing is now only two months away, the card at Haydock Park tomorrow may provide punters with vital clues for the Cheltenham festival in March. With Kicking King, Inglis Drever and Harchibald all on the sidelines both the Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle look very open races at this stage.

The feature race at the Merseyside venue is the Grade Two Peter Marsh Chase worth £75,000 covering a trip of three miles and once again some of the best staying chasers in training have been entered at the five-day stage.

Kingscliff is set to carry top weight as he returns to the scene of his triumph when beating Beef Or Salmon and Kicking King over this trip back in November.

The gelding, currently quoted at 50-1 in the ante post market for the Gold Cup, ran poorly at Sandown on Boxing Day and a return to better form is required to be a serious contender for the chasing crown.

Lord Transcend is a classy type who would surely be the most obvious selection if declared to run, this will depend on the going and the grey is unlikely to be declared today if prevailing ground conditions are heavy.

Ebony Light took an uncharacteristic tumble in testing conditions at Wetherby earlier this month after having previously scored by five-lengths at Bangor-on-Dee in December. The gelding, trained by Ginger McCain at Cholmondely, is likely to be Ain-tree bound.

Currently available at 40-1 for the John Smith's Grand National in April Ebony Light represents an excellent each-way punt here.

Rooster Booster and Inglis Drever are the last two winners of the £50,000 Commhoist Logistics Champion Hurdle trial, providing an accurate picture of leading contenders over the smaller obstacles. Again the Howard Johnson trained Arcalis will only run if the ground is not too heavy.

In his absence Al Eile, who finished seventh in the 2005 Champion Hurdle before having the class to beat Inglis Drever at Aintree, makes a belated seasonal debut.

This Irish challenger may need the race and preference goes to Faasel who travels from Nicky Richard's yard, he is a consistent performer at this level and victory would see him shorten from 14-1 in the Champion Hurdle betting.

Leading national hunt trainer Paul Nicholls should collect with Le Volfoni in the Sporting Index Novices' Chase. The five-year-old comes with a hat-trick of wins, the latest at Plumpton on New Year's Day when defying a 10lb penalty. Previously a course winner back in December, conditions will suit here.

The seven-race card gets underway at 1.10pm with the Anglo Irish Novices' Hurdle worth £30,000 in prize money. Refinement, with four successive wins to her name, will find this a much tougher experience. It looked as if something was amiss with Nous Voila at Cheltenham in December when finishing tailed off. With a good record on the flat over in France and the Pipe stable back in form, a return to the winners' enclosure is anticipated.

Swaythe made an impressive winning debut at Lingfield back in November and should follow up in the EBF/Doncaster Bloodstock Sales Mares' Only Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race to close the card.