Saturday tips: Dave Nevison shares his best bets

Jipcot won a Listed Juvenile hurdle in France two years ago and although he won a race for Ben Pauling, he didn’t progress as might have been expected. 

However, since he has moved to the O’Neill yard, and following a second wind op, he has very much turned the corner. 

The operation has evidently been very successful and his latest two runs make him the pick here. He won over 2m4½f at Newbury and then ran a cracker at Windsor off an 8lb higher mark where he looked very well suited by the step up to three miles. 

Jipcot is 2lb higher again here but I suspect he won’t be ridden so cold this time now his stamina is confirmed, and he can resume the winning thread in this Pertemps qualifier.

Diesel Line was a late non-runner when I tipped him up recently and hopefully he is over whatever ailed him that day, and can prove he's a well-handicapped performer. 

The Jeremy Scott yard has recently come off the cold list and most of his runners have been performed well.

Diesel Line showed his first real form since him bumper win when runner up last time out, and the winner of that race has followed up in good style since, so the form looks strong. 

Jay Tidball rode a winner for Paul Nicholls recently and in a strong field of conditional riders in this race, the booking of Tidball is certainly no detriment to Diesel Line’s claims.

Nicky Henderson has decided to keep Wiseguy fresh, and his record suggests that is certainly the best approach. 

The nine-year-old lost his form after two decent runs last season but came back in very good style after a 227-day absence at Newbury last time. 

The ground on Saturday will be similar and ten weeks on from that comeback run, I am hopeful he has been left fresh enough to defy a rise to his highest ever mark here. 

He is a double-figure price in a hot race, and at those odds it looks well worth chancing that freshness is the key to him.

Apple Away, like many in this field, runs off the bottom permissible weight but is the only contender in the race who is not actually out of the weights, so is well handicapped off her true mark. 

Lucinda Russell’s mare looks an ideal type for one of these Haydock handicaps, given she likes to race up with the pace which this track favours. 

She ran well at Haydock over hurdles in 2022 when finishing second over a mile shorter than this trip on her chasing debut. She has since been highly tried on occasions but I think she will be very well suited by the step up to this distance, and also might find the Haydock fences a little easier than those at Newbury last time out. 

Apple Away is a consistent mare who is trying something different on Saturday, and I believe the step up in trip could bring about the improvement needed to land this prestigious prize.