Dave Nevison: top tips for Ascot, Haydock and Newmarket

The Shergar Cup has stood the test of time but the unfamiliar colours means that I have sometimes only just worked out which one I have backed by the time they go past the line! 

I’ve got a couple of fancies on the card plus selections at Haydock and Newmarket. 

It is no surprise I am sticking with Theme Park, who finally delivered the win I had felt was due for quite some time at York last time. 

Sadly, he was a well backed 9/2 shot on that occasion as plenty of judges had cottoned on to him being well handicapped. 

He got up close home and did well to prevail, having conceded first run. As a result, he has only gone up 4lb and is still well in.  

A slight niggle is that he is racing away from York but hopefully the journey to Haydock won’t be too damaging to his chances. Now that he has got his head in front, he can follow up. 

There is certainly nothing in his recent form that is compelling but there is a deep suspicion that Koy Koy is capable of much better than he has shown in his recent runs. 

He has been a short price in two of the biggest handicaps of the season and could be excused at Epsom but ran a shocker in a first-time tongue-tie at Royal Ascot. 

He ran well on his first two starts back in this country despite enduring nightmare runs and has been exasperating. 

George Boughey has drawn stumps for a while and given the five-year-old a short break and now returns his charge to the track after the handicapper has finally dropped him a couple of pounds. 

It is perhaps significant that Koy Koy is back on the July course - a track that where he won on his first start for Boughey. He is set to be a bigger price than he was at Ascot and I am hoping he comes back from a break in top form.  

Insanity looks a logical choice here at a track he ran very well at last time out. He has gone up 3lb for finishing a half-a-length second to a back-to-form rival and given that was Insanity’s first run after a break - and he is still lightly raced for a four-year-old - he could still have improvement in him. 

I can’t say I am in love with the Shergar Cup concept, but Rachel King, who travels over from Australia, is a top-class jockey and rode a big priced second in the Sandringham at Royal Ascot for John and Thady Gosden.  

Alan King will have no complaints about who is on board for this and there are much madder choices than Insanity in this.  

Jarraaf looks a useful sprinter to be with a for a little while yet after he beat the evergreen course specialist Fresh by 2 ½ lengths over course and distance last time out. 

That was only his fourth start of his career and an 8lb rise for such a margin of victory in a sprint handicap is more than reasonable, especially as more improvement clearly looks a possibility. Billy Loughnane rides, which is another positive.