Horse racing tips: Monday best bets from Ross Millar

And so ends a bumper festive period of racing.

The freezing conditions in early December proved to be a blessing in disguise as cards all across the country benefitted from the backlog of horses needing a run, resulting in good-sized fields and an abundance of exciting racing.

No prizes for originality here, but Consitution Hill was my highlight of the Christmas action in the UK. His win in the Christmas Hurdle was no surprise, but the mesmerised reaction of my father in-law - who was sat watching it with me more in duty than interest - highlighted just how much opportunity the sport has to market itself to a wider audience.

Great sports stars like Usain Bolt, Serena Williams and Lionel Messi have an effortless swagger that suggests they are of a different breed to their competitors and Constitution Hill has that same aura. He must be celebrated and let’s hope those with the ability to do so ensure a wider audience get to know his name. Nicky Henderson and Nico De Boinville on The One Show sofa? I’d love to see it!

In Ireland it was Dysart Dynamo who impressed me the most. His engine has never been in question, but over hurdles last year his ability to jump fluently was often questionable at best. Going chasing appears to have improved him and he showed plenty of scope when necessary - most notably at the fence away from the stands - and more crucially showed composure to organise his feet when required. I’ve long been a fan of him and for my money he’s up there with the best two-mile novice chasers this season.

The jumps racing on Monday comes from Plumpton and Ayr and I have three selections.

12.45 Ayr: Glen Cannel

Saladam is yet to win but has run consistently to be placed on both hurdle starts. It’s possibly noteworthy that connections are persisting in novice company despite him now being eligible for handicaps.

But my preference is for Glen Cannel. He won at Market Rasen on his last start and appeared to revel in the soft ground there, so the forecast heavy ground here is of no concern.

He does have to concede a penalty to Saladam, but he is open to plenty of improvement on just his second outing over hurdles and I expect him to stay on strongly and deliver another winner for Laura Morgan, who continues to operate at a healthy strike rate of 19% for the season.

1.00 Plumpton: Hansard

I’m expecting Master Chewy to be a short-priced favourite here and I’m keen to oppose him. He’s looked to me like he requires a good degree of organising from the saddle in his starts so far, all of which have come at big galloping tracks. I just wonder whether the sharp nature of this track might just compromise his chance, for all that he clearly has plenty of ability.

Hansard has to concede a 7lb penalty to the entire field after a winning hurdles debut at Huntingdon. The form of that race is patchy as the third School Days Over pulled up on his next start at Cheltenham but the fourth Kenzai Warrior did finish second at Taunton.

Regardless, I think the performance of Hansard can be significantly marked up as he was very keen throughout yet still easily got to the front before the second-last hurdle, where he showed his greenness with a sketchy jump. That he was able to run strongly to the line despite these flaws suggests he is of above average ability.

If he can relax in the early stages on his second start then I expect him to have too much pace for Master Chewy.

2.30 Plumpton: Rostello

Rostello has steadily fallen down the weights since his last win in July and now lines up here just 1lb higher than his last winning mark.

Crucially, he gets soft ground for the first time this season and, while the win at Stratford in July was on good ground, he has shown the majority of his best form on soft and heavy.

Trainer Dr Richard Newland has endured a slow start to the season but has started to find form in recent weeks with three winners in the last fourteen days.

Luke Scott has looked composed so far in his first season as a conditional and takes off a valuable 7lb.

Back on soft ground and with his stable starting to hit form I’m confident of a bold showing.