Tuesday's racing bulletin

The Five Live selection is Steely Dan in the 1600 at Lingfield (all times GMT).

The Cheltenham Festival gets underway in two weeks and there have been a number of significant moves in the ante-post betting markets.

The Martin Pipe-trained Marcel has been backed down to 8-1 second favourite for the opening race of the meeting, the Supreme Novices Hurdle.

Brian Ellison's Carte Diamond has also attracted plenty of support and is now as low as 12-1 to win the Triumph Hurdle.

Two of the leading contenders for the Gold Cup have been the subject of positive reports in the racing pages.

Jockey Jim Culloty, writing in the Guardian, says he can't believe that Best Mate can still be backed at 3-1 for an unprecedented fourth successive win.

His only concern is the possibility of soft going which he thinks might favour his rivals.

Trainer Paul Nicholls told the Racing Post that Strong Flow's preparation for the big race is going exactly to plan.

The horse has had two runs since returning from a serious leg injury and Nicholls believes the 8-1 shot has a great chance of victory, though he is hoping that the going will be on the soft side of good.

Tuesday's racing at Leicester goes ahead after passing an early morning inspection. The going is soft, heavy in places.

The Philip Hobbs-trained Croix de Guerre looks to be the banker bet in the opening race at 1420.

The card at Catterick gets underway at 1410 and the going is good to soft, soft in places.

Former jockey Brian Storey saddles his first runner as a trainer - Fleetfoot Mac runs in the 1640.

The going is standard for an eight-race card at Lingfield which starts at 1330.

The feature race, the Littlewoods Bet Direct Handicap at 1600, has attracted several likely contenders for the Winter Derby including Bourgainville, Sri Diamond and Steely Dan.

Trainer John Best believes Steely Dan is hitting peak form and he looks a tempting bet in a highly competitive race.