Graham Lee, number-one jockey to Norton trainer Malcolm Jefferson and enjoying his best-ever season, heads to Scotland with bright prospects of adding to his score tomorrow.

Lee, who is set to team up with Jefferson's Moss Harvey in the Pertemps Hurdle Final at Cheltenham next Tuesday, can successfully open the batting at Ayr on Brave Effect in the curtain-raising Loch Doon 'National Hunt' Maiden Hurdle.

Trained by Martin Todhunter in Cumbria, Brave Effect finished second in a bumper on his seasonal debut at Carlisle and, although his next effort was disappointing, he finished a good fourth in a decent novices' hurdle at Doncaster last time.

Brave Effect will not get many better opportunities to open his winning account than this, and is fancied to fulfill earlier promise.

Richard Guest has made a tremendous start to his training career since taking over the licence last month from Norman Mason, and he can add to his rising score in the Arthur Challenge Cup Handicap Chase, so punters are likely to be torn between his two runners.

Recent winner Night Fighter is my choice to come out on top of his stablemate, the veteran Emperor's Magic.

Few Ayr meetings come and go without Len Lungo figuring on the scoresheet and Scotland's top trainer is unlikely to miss out tomorrow.

Lungo can land the Royal Highland Fusiliers Novices' Chase with The Rile, a previous course winner, and also the James Barclay Memorial Handicap Hurdle with Contract Scotland. Both horses will be ridden by Tony Dobbin, Ayr's leading jockey.

At Sandown, Silk Trader has every chance of lifting the Barclays Handicap Hurdle for amateur riders for the second successive year.

Trained by John Mackie, who is emerging from a lean spell and sent out a winner at Catterick yesterday, Silk Trader finished fourth on a recent visit to this track. He is napped to move up to the number-one slot tomorrow.

Chateau Rose has every chance of notching his second win of the campaign in the Thales Defence Novices' Handicap Hurdle.

A winner at Leicester two outings ago, Nick Gaselee's gelding knocked a shin when a below-par third at Plumpton on his only subsequent start.

With Andrew Thornton in the saddle, Chateau Rose can bloom again here.

Also worth noting is Safari Paradise, who came in for significant support before finishing fourth at Kempton recently, in the £15,000 Tote bet-Xpress Showcase Handicap Hurdle.

Friday's meetings:

Ayr

2-35 Brave Effect; 3-10 The Rile; 3-50 Contract Scotland; 4-20 Night Fighter; 4-50 Thosewerethedays; 5-20 Workaway.

Sandown

2-15 Silk Trader (NAP); 2-50 Chateau Rose; 3-30 Infrasonique; 4-00 Safari Paradise; 4-30 Rob Mine; 5-05 Tollbrae.

- Tomorrow's other meeting is at Hereford.

Updated: 12:20 Thursday, March 06, 2003