PUNTERS are piling their money on Chepstow Racecourse specialist One Knight to win the showpiece race of the season - the Coral Welsh National.

When the entries were revealed for the race, bookmakers were coy about the lightly raced ten-year-old horse that hasn't run for a year. They rated him a 12-1 chance for victory on Tuesday December 27.

But punters rushed at the bookmakers with their money, and now he's as low as 7-1 favourite for the three and three quarter mile race.

This is the kind of interest that the Coral Welsh National generates. It's a fantastic race, and is held on a day when well over 10,000 people will once again make their way to Chepstow Racecourse.

The injury prone One Knight must defy the burden of history to win. But then so must the horse vying with him for favouritism - Cornish Rebel - from last year's victorious training yard of Paul Nicholls.

It is 14 years since a horse given a weight of more than 11st to carry won the Coral Welsh National at Chepstow. That was the mighty - but also injury prone - Carvill's Hill.

One Knight has been allotted 11st 5lb; Cornish Rebel 11st 10lb. With the top weight Keen Leader - 11st 12lb - not a certain runner, that means that the weights could rise a shade.

Trainer Philip Hobbs is rightly confident that One Knight, one of the stars in his Somerset stables, can come good once again when the tapes go up for the showpiece race of the season in Wales. Three times in his career, the horse has won his seasonal debut at Chepstow, including a year ago in the Rehearsal Chase.

l Racing is scheduled to begin on Tuesday December 27, at 12.20pm. Gates will open at 10am, and visitors are advised to leave home as early as possible to avoid the likelihood of queuing.