OPPOSE Make A Stand at your peril in today's £100,000 guaranteed Tote Gold Trophy at Newbury. Martin Pipe's exciting novice has quite simply galloped his rivals into the ground on his last three starts, culminating in last month's Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle at Kempton, beating Gales Cavalier four lengths.

That followed on from similar victories in the William Hill Handicap Hurdle at Sandown and a valuable Ascot novices' hurdle.

Given that Make A Stand has only a 4lb penalty for his latest success and that he is open to improvement, one could reasonably expect him to be a pretty short priced favourite here.

But while his odds have contracted from 12 to 1 into 9 to 2 the market leader is Edelweis du Moulin, who escapes a penalty for an easy win at Wetherby last Saturday, beating Tom Brodie five lengths.

A tenuous line through the runner up, who was fourth behind Make A Stand at Kempton, suggests there is little to separate the pair.

But Edelweis du Moulin, who was able to pick his rivals off at leisure at Wetherby, will surely find life tougher her.

The latter has been somewhat talked up bizarrely and he is 20 to 1 for next month's Champion Hurdle while the higher rated Make A Stand is 50 to 1.

Make A Stand has twice proved he can demolish big fields in top handicaps and can do so once more.

Mistinguett, the winner of last month's Champion Hurdle Trial at Haydock, is the other market leader and she must be feared on the form of her four length defeat of Dato Star.

But she has looked vulnerable in the past and it remains to be seen if her jumping will come up to scratch if she tries to take on Make A Stand at a ferocious pace.

Pipe's Cyborgo can put himself in the Cheltenham Gold Cup frame by winning the Year Of The Ox Novices' Chase.

The Gold Cup has eluded Pipe to date and Cyborgo must surely be a possible for the race as Challenger du Luc is the trainer's only other entry in the showpiece.

The seven year old is also in the Sun Alliance Chase but Pipe has a host of other entries for that race.

Cyborgo is a class act, having won last year's Stayers' Hurdle at the Festival. And he jumped well on his chasing debut at Newton Abbot last month when easily beating Well Timed 20 lengths.

Another clear round here could put Cyborgo on course for the more ambitious of his Cheltenham options, for which he is currently priced at a tempting 33 to 1.

Best bet away from Newbury is Bell Staffboy in the Pertemps Cream Novices' Handicap Chase at Uttoxeter.

The eight year old enjoyed an effortless success on his first run for John O'Shea last month at Doncaster, beating Puritan seven lengths and he remains very well treated.

Lord Gyllene, owned by Uttoxeter chairman Stan Clarke and an impressive winner at the course last month, can repeat the trick in the £40,000 added Singer & Friedlander National Trial.

The nine year old has really come to himself of late and looks to have been laid out for this.

. British runners have been struggling to make a mark at Cagnes sur Mer this year, but Simon Dow will be hoping to reverse the trend with No Speeches in an amateurs' contest at the Riviera track tomorrow. No Speeches tackles 17 rivals in the 11f Prix General de Saint Didier.