Tony McCoy returns to what must be his favourite mount for today's renewal of the AIG Champion Hurdle, and the champion is still the one to beat. Last year's race saw him edge out Mac's Joy, who perhaps shouldn't be as long as 9-1 having just come back from injury. Hardy Eustace lines up at just under 9-1 in a race he did poorly in last year, Jazz Messenger - who had a fine win in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton - is at nines, while Asian Maze under Ruby Walsh is 14-1. The main danger to Colm Murphy's star is Iktitaf, rated 5-1, but he won't like the ground and Brave Inca beat him in the December Festival Hurdle on the same course last month. Backing the favourite can be dangerous, as anyone who contributed to the Euro3.8m traded on Black Jack Ketchum yesterday ("nished "fth) will tell you. However, Brave Inca can justify the tag at a fine price.

BACK WALES TO WIN THE SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP 6-1 Odds quoted are from Betfair Ireland are favourites for the Six Nations, with barely 6-4 available about them winning the tournament. Which suggests a lot of people need to calm down a second. Yes, their form in the autumn internationals was superb, the only shame being that New Zealand didn't swagger into town to provide an estimation of their true worth. But those games were in Lansdowne Road, a venue whose value to Ireland sides has been severely underestimated. And nobody's going to wave a magic wand over Croke Park and make Ireland unbeatable, it's essentially an away game for the home side as well. If anything, the weight of history may prove a disadvantage. Paul O'Connell has been in distinctly indifferent form of late, while an injury to any key player (particularly Ronan O'Gara) would be a hammer blow to Eddie O'Sullivan's hopes of a Grand Slam. France are close to 5-2, but will be working towards the World Cup. As pointed out elsewhere in these pages, Wales have the natural talent to surprise many and are too long at 6-1 to win a very open tournament.

Where the money was. . .

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS TO BEAT THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS LAST SUNDAY 9-1 (Betfair) We called it wrong last week, but at least we had the comfort of one of the greatest NFL games of all time. The Patriots scored three early touchdowns to severely rattle their favoured opposition.

Losing 21-3, and with Pats QB Tom Brady in laser-guided form, there didn't seem to be any way back, with the Colts drifting to 9-1 in-running. A pulsating few hours later, Peyton Manning (right) orchestrated a last minute touchdown to win 38-34. Epic.