Aintree

The 11yo Home By The Lee won the Stayers' Hurdle at Cheltenham last month and will be tough to beat if reproducing that form, but it's disconcerting he's been pulled up on his two previous runs in this race. STRONG LEADER has an excellent record at Aintree, finishing first then second in the last two runnings of this race, and he's the selection on his first outing since wind surgery. Last year's winner Hiddenvalley Lake might bounce back to form with a bang back here but the main threat could come from Honesty Policy, who was fifth in the Stayers' Hurdle but remains very lightly raced and won at this meeting 12 months ago.[Ben Hutton]