THE £150,000 Group Three Betfair Exchange Trophy takes place at Ascot on day two of the Christmas Racing Weekend next Saturday (December 21).

There are 47 entries for the two-mile handicap hurdle, up five on the 2018 total.

Since it was first run at Ascot in 2001, Nicky Henderson has been the most successful trainer in the Betfair Exchange Trophy with four victories, most recently Brain Power in 2016.

There are five entries from Seven Barrows this year including Betfair's 10/1 favourite Epatante, who was the eye-catching six-length winner of a Listed Intermediate Handicap Hurdle at Newbury last month, when she was chased home by stable companion French Crusader (12/1).

Henderson's quintet also includes Lust For Glory (16/1), runner-up to Not So Sleepy (Hughie Morrison, 20/1) in a handicap hurdle over the course and distance on November 22, plus unexposed four-year-old filly Laskadine (20/1).

Several of the entries met in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham, which saw Harambe (Alan King, 14/1) get up to score by a neck from Gumball (Philip Hobbs, 14/1) with Monsieur Lecoq (Jane Williams, 16/1) in third and Quoi de Neuf (16/1) fourth.

The Betfair Exchange Trophy has gone to Irish-trained horses on two occasions and there are five entries from Ireland in 2019 including a trio from Ireland's champion Jump trainer Willie Mullins – 2018 Galway Hurdle runner-up Blazer (25/1), recent Thurles winner Fan de Blues (20/1) and Saglawy (16/1), while also going forward are Darver Star (Gavin Cromwell, 16/1) and Turnpike Trip (Charles Byrnes, 16/1), who were third and fourth respectively in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse on December 1.

The Betfair Exchange Trophy is one of the few races to have eluded 11-time champion Jump trainer Paul Nicholls.

He has four entries this year including last season's Imperial Cup scorer Malaya (20/1) and Tamaroc Du Mathan (20/1), who was runner-up to easy winner Master Debonairin an introductory hurdle over the course and distance on November 22.

Colin Tizzard has two contenders in Elixir de Nutz (16/1), not seen out since landing the Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown Park in January, and the unexposed Eldorado Allen (20/1).

The 2018 running of the Betfair Exchange Trophy went to Mohaayed (20/1), handing a second victory in the race to the Dan and Harry Skelton combination. Mohaayed, one of four Skelton-trained entries, would become the first dual winner if scoring again this year.