Our resident website tipster put up Midlands National winner Major Dundee (12-1) in his latest column and starts the new week with three fancies from Haydock and Warwick. Enjoy all the action live on Racing TV.
3.35 Haydock: Alnadam
He made progress over fences two seasons ago and ended up rated much higher than his hurdles mark after some useful performances, but it looks as though he ultimately got overfaced and lost the enthusiasm for racing at such a high level. Dan Skelton has done well with another 10-year-old, West Of The Bridge, back over hurdles to exploit a much lower mark and Alnadam is a very similar project.
He began to show his appreciation for the switch in discipline on his latest start with a good third at Wetherby, while he has been dropped in grade again here and is now down to the level where he won his only handicap hurdle before he was switched to go chasing. Tristan Durrell takes off a useful 5lbs.
4.00 Warwick: Art of Illusion
I expect a much better run than last time and the stable is going well.
Maybe this young chaser went a quarter of a mile too far last time in a Lingfield marathon, as Art Of Illusion faded out of things completely in the final straight finishing almost last. Up until then he had been a steadily improving handicap chaser, picking up victories at Plumpton and Ffos Las along the way.
He ran well under 7lb claimer Dylan Kitts over this trip on his penultimate start (Kitts rode a winner for Greatrex this week) and the rider’s claim will really count over this trip.
4.10 Haydock: No Cruise Yet
He is a solid stayer and his strong course record is the main reason I’m sticking with him in a really competitive renewal of this traditional Haydock feature.
No Cruise Yet is an out and out stayer and his jumping is a real asset, conserving energy over these marathon trips. He was a winner here by a very narrow margin earlier in the season and, after a winter break, he came back to run a really good third in the Eider Chase at Newcastle when out of the weights.
He runs off the same mark here and with nothing as well handicapped as Kitty’s Light to beat – as well as his liking for Haydock and the useful form of the stable - he could well be good enough to score again.