Paul Nicholls special could be one for the Grand National - Pricewise guru Tom Segal gives his Ten to Follow

The winning Ten to Follow list always contains some of the obvious as well as a bit of invention. For that reason I fully expect Constitution Hill and Galopin Des Champs to be in most lists, but neither are going to be seen that much and there could be some value in leaving them out.

I think it's interesting the Willie Mullins team are keen to keep Impaire Et Passe over hurdles and he is a viable alternative to Constitution Hill, while I'm not convinced Galopin Des Champs is quite as dominant as many think he is.

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The Gold Cup form is not looking that strong now and I think he might be taking on better horses this year in the likes of Gerri Colombe and L'Homme Presse. Gerri Colombe is a strong stayer, but he's not a slow horse judged on what he showed at Aintree last season, while L'Homme Presse was the best staying novice chaser of his generation and has become something of a forgotten horse.

With 15 of the 21 bonus races being chases, it makes sense to concentrate on those star names over the larger obstacles. I think there is room for another top-class chaser in any list and it was a toss-up between Bravemansgame and Shishkin. The latter has more blowout potential so Bravemansgame is a safer choice as it looks as though he's going to be hard to beat in the King George.

Marginal preference is for Jonbon over El Fabiolo when looking for the Champion Chase winner. I think he's a better jumper and it is always a case of having your heart in your mouth when watching El Fabiolo.

Complete Unknown looks a Paul Nicholls special to me and, whether he wins the Coral Gold Cup or not, I think he is going to make up into a top-class staying chaser by the end of the season, when he could easily be one for the Grand National.

Similar sentiments apply to Chemical Energy, who is top of my underrated list. I thought he was unlucky not to win the National Hunt Chase last season as he chased the runaway leader from a long way out and got collared on the run-in as a result. That form is solid and I will be surprised if he isn't up to winning some good races as the season progresses.

It's probably not worth putting in too many novices because, while they can rack up some easy points, lots can go wrong and it is always hard to choose the right ones. Having said that, I was really impressed with Iroko on his chase debut at Warwick recently, when his jumping got better and better as the race progressed. Lots of winners of the Martin Pipe at the Cheltenham Festival have gone on to be top class over fences and there is no reason why Iroko can't follow suit.

Chianti Classico has no pretensions to being as good as Iroko, but he's a prolific winner and looked a natural over fences on his debut at Chepstow last month. Furthermore, he stays really well so I expect him to be running in nationals of some description sooner rather than later, while the National Hunt Chase looks a good race for him too.

Willie Mullins probably has 20 or so potential Cheltenham novice hurdlers in his yard and picking one out is not easy. The one I think has superstar potential is Ballyburn, who will be even better once he learns to settle.

Tom Segal's Ten To Follow

Ballyburn
Bravemansgame
Chemical Energy
Chianti Classico
Complete Unknown
Gerri Colombe
Impaire Et Passe
Iroko
Jonbon
L'Homme Presse

More Ten to Follow:

Gutsy Down Royal winner Gerri Colombe heads star broadcaster Nick Luck's Ten to Follow 

'I can't resist including the horse that beat him at Punchestown' - France correspondent Scott Burton's Gallic Ten to Follow 

'I am convinced Dan Skelton has the answer to Newbury's Coral Gold Cup' - Evan Williams' Tote Ten to Follow 

'He has not yet reached the ceiling of his powers and could be an exciting chaser' - David Elsworth picks his Ten To Follow

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