Martin Dixon: "this is a great spot for him and I like his draw"

It's been a while since Havana Blue got his head in front but he's been banging hard on the door recently, runner-up on each of his past three starts, and all of those efforts have come in competitive races.

I was taken by how well he coped with the drop to sprinting at this track last time, showing good pace and headed only late on having briefly gone clear, and from the same mark I think he could be hard to beat here at a track that clearly suits him well.

This 'Grey Horse' handicap is a great spot for him and I like his draw in stall 8 as he should be able to track through last year's winner Archduke Ferdinand who I'd expect to give him a lead into things.

It's surprising to me that Woodstock hasn't had more goes over sprint distances since beaten in a photo finish over this course and distance in August of last year and it's worth having a bit on him each way  dropping back to 6f here, with 10/1 available at the time of writing.

He looked all over the winner at Chester on his penultimate start but didn't find as much as expected over the extended 7f at Chester, then it was a similar story at Thirsk last time when again going through the race as if in top form but not quite delivering in the final 100 yards.

He will get a strong pace to follow through here which is perfect as he can sometimes pull quite hard whilst I think Oisin Orr is a very positive jockey booking too.  

Del Corso is bound to be very popular as he bids to complete a hat-trick of wins but I'm not convinced there's any depth to the form of his Nottingham wins so I'm happy to oppose him with Terry Kent's filly Pipily.

The daughter of Showcasing proved that she stays better than you might anticipate on breeding when a close-second over this course and distance last time on her first try beyond a mile and conditions will be nigh on identical here.

A 3 lb rise for that latest effort leaves her on a very competitive mark and with Del Corso potentially facing some competition for the lead in the shape of another last-time-out winner, Femme Beauty, I hope Ray Dawson will be able to sit and stalk before pouncing late. She's a strong-travelling filly who probably doesn't want to hit the front too soon but if delivered right this looks a perfect race for her.