Rocky Creek aims to get his season back on track in the Betfair Denman Chase at Newbury on Saturday.
The Paul Nicholls-trained chaser has found victories hard to come by since his novice campaign over fences a few years ago, but enjoyed a major success in the BetBright Chase at Kempton last February and has run some fine races in defeat, most notably filling the runner-up spot in the 2013 Hennessy Gold Cup and finishing fifth in the following year's Grand National.
He made a fine start to the current campaign when chasing home Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite Don Cossack at Down Royal in late October, but then disappointed on his return to Aintree for December's Grand Sefton Chase and the trainer is hopeful his charge can show his true colours back over conventional fences this weekend.
Nicholls said: "This race has been his aim for a long time. He was second to Don Cossack in the Grade One at Down Royal and ran really tidy that day.
"He then went to Aintree and ran really poorly in the Grand Sefton Chase - we have fairly well worked out that he is not in love with jumping the Grand National fences.
"He always goes well at this time of year. Last year he won the big three-mile handicap chase at Kempton and he has such a high handicap mark now that I thought it would be nearly impossible to run in that race again, hence the Denman Chase bid.
"He is a good, solid staying chaser. He is also in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but is very unlikely to run in it as there are other races for him."
Another horse on something of a recovery mission is David Pipe's Ballynagour.
The 10-year-old won a Cheltenham Festival handicap two years ago and was victorious over hurdles in France last May, but recent results have been less inspiring.
He was not disgraced when third in Charlie Hall at Wetherby, but he was tailed off in Haydock's Betfair Chase and was pulled up in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
"He is in good form at home but he has got to bounce back from a disappointing run last time out," said Pipe.
"We weren't thinking of going for this race but when I saw the entries and that we would be getting weight off Rocky Creek we thought we would take our chance.
"Obviously he has had issues all his career but he appears in good form at home."
The Giant Bolster has been a tremendous servant to connections, finishing second, fourth and third respectively in consecutive renewals of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
David Bridgwater's stable star might not be the force of old, but the Wyck Hill-based trainer reports his charge to be in rude health after finishing fourth in last month's BetBright Trial at Cheltenham.
"He's in really good order and I was happy with his run at Cheltenham," said Bridgwater.
"The ground was very bad, he stayed on well in the end and I think he's come on a bundle for it.
"It doesn't look a great race and even if he can reproduce something like his best he would look very well-in.
"In reality, this is one of the few chances we'll get to win a £50,000 race these days and he is in very good form."
The field is completed by Houblon Des Obeaux, second to Coneygree in this 12 months ago, Splash Of Ginge, Bob Ford and the rank outsider Midnight Appeal.