Dave Nevison's top tips for Saturday: Rely on 5-1 Reggae Runner

As ever bubbles were burst at both the Greenham and the Craven meetings this week and some of the Newmarket work watchers probably need to take the rose tints out of their lenses for the season ahead.

Personally, I doubt we saw the winner of either of the first Classics last week, which is disappointing because I am a big fan of the traditional trials.

For my money, Too Darn Hot might be good enough on three legs!

Hopefully there will be a positive announcement from his connections this weekend, although the general 4-1 available about last season’s champion two-year-old will disappear faster than a mouse click if that is the case.

I have a feeling this might be a plunge horse on Saturday afternoon.

He is often well backed and hasn’t landed as many wins as his followers would have liked.

but I believe there were excuses for several of his runs last season and he is running here off a 2lbs lower mark than he won off at Ascot last season. He had previously been rated higher than that.

He has had just one run at Kempton for Robert Cowell and it was a good one, so it is surprising this is the first time he has been back. At his best, he wins this easily and the signs were good last time.

Has a profile typical of a Mark Johnson three-year-old – being a lightly-raced type who has progressed with each of his three runs and learnt about racing rather than trying to hide his worth from the handicapper.

He showed the benefit of his experience with a win typically from the front at Lingfield last time.

He has everything in his favour, being berthed in stall one at a track which massively favours front-runners over the mile.

It is difficult to imagine a more perfect mount for Joe Fanning, who excels on this type at this track.

There isn’t a hotter combination at the moment than Roger Varian and Andrea Atzeni, who again clicked at Newcastle on Good Friday.

Sharja Silk was a disappointment last season and despite consistent efforts never managed to score, looking a bit fed up with the game on his final start.

However, he had previously shown decent form in 0-100 company at Yarmouth.

The fact the owner and Varian have stuck with him at four is a good sign and I am hoping that a gelding operation, a new surface and a slightly extended trip could set this horse off on the route that might have been expected from a son of Dubawi who cost 850,000gns as a yearling and was a Derby entry.