Haydock tips: Andy Stephens has four Sky Bet Sunday Series picks

Rookie trainer Paul Attwater, previously an assistant to Seamus Mullins, has made an encouraging start and Lil Brother is fancied to give him another success. 

The Showcasing colt scored at Nottingham in June and last time out made a solid start to life in nurseries, when beating all bar the promising Novelette, who was making his handicap bow, at Sandown. 

In between, Lil Brother was not disgraced in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot, albeit he was biting off more than he could chew that day against Charles Darwin and company. 

He’s running off the same mark as at Sandown, with the biggest threat looking narrow Windsor winner Vlad, a stablemate of Novelette. It will be interesting to see how he travels in the betting, with the Crisfords having a good steer on the form. 

All eyes will be on Spring Is Sprung as he seeks to win a third Sunday Series race of the year and in the process scoop a £100,000 bonus for his connections. 

He will no doubt be trained to the minute, but he is a horse who likes to bowl along at the head of affairs and, with so many other potential front-runners in this line-up, his chance could be compromised. 

I fancy the race will be set up for a closer and Reigning Profit, who invariably races off the pace these days, could be the one to profit. He missed the break and never got competitive at Goodwood last time, but he had previously gone close in a 17-runner affair at Ascot, having won at Pontefract and Ripon earlier in the campaign. His trainer, Ruth Carr, is having a fabulous season. 

Seb Spencer has a progressive filly on his hands in Lorna B and she can complete a hat-trick of wins. 

She was having just her second start on turf when staying on well to win a 6f Thirsk handicap in June and then, a month later, was tenacious at the finish when following up over the same trip at Carlisle. 

She’s up another 3lb for that victory, but she’s been given another month to recharge her batteries, and that small rise is offset by the step up to 7f, which looks sure to suit to judge by her running style and pedigree. 

Spencer mentioned this race straight after that Carlisle success, so he has clearly had the extra yardage in mind for a while. 

An outside draw in mile races at Haydock is usually not ideal, but it may help Yaaser as he is habitually held up. He can track across and drop in. 

The seven-year-old’s “pounce from off the pace” style of running means he can be a hostage to fortune, and it’s fair to say he has not had the rub of the green in recent starts, with the stewards also asking some polite questions after his eye-catching penultimate run at York, which he followed with similar at the track 24 hours later. 

Lauren Young, a 7lb claimer, has been on board for his past three runs, but Paul Mulrennan is now reunited with him. The combination won the last time they teamed up, at Musselburgh at the start of July, and Mulrennan is 7-25 on him overall, being placed on him on another seven occasions. 

Yaaser has never won off such a high mark in the past, but his recent efforts suggest the handicapper may not be in charge.