7.20 Haydock

One bet so far today from us:

2PT WIN - 7.20 Haydock - Captain Scooby (available at 11/2 with Bet365, Corals & VCBet, 5/1 generally)

After watching Haydock yesterday it was quite clear that the ground was riding on the soft side and the times were very slow and therefore there must be a chance that many of the horses running there today will struggle in the conditions.

The 7.20 race caught our eye as there was a very interesting runner here in the shape of Captain Scooby. This horse has shown a liking for soft ground in the past and ran a creditable race over course and distance on heavy ground last season when it spoilt any chance by pulling too hard. Unsurprisingly it faded in the last furlong and was beaten 6 lengths however the winner is now rated 100 and the selection appears to have learnt how to settle much better since then. It then went on to run a now 87 rated animal to 1/2 length over 5f at Thirsk before readily winning a Beverley 5f handicap of a 2lb lower mark than todays. After that it was raised to a mark of 78 and ran a little disappointingly at Warwick beaten 5 lengths, however the winner of that race is now rated 19lbs higher than then and the 3rd has ran a cracker in a decent race at Ascot.

Since then the horse has ran 3 times on good/firm ground and has finished 3rd on its last two starts when not getting particularly good runs and finishing off its race well. As a consequence it has been given a little bit of respite from the handicapper and now back on a surface which we know it acts on and with a professional jockey taking over from its usual claiming jockey we expect a big run from it. The trainer has also got a decent record at the course recently (2 wins, 3 2nds, 4 3rds from 13 runs) and in a race where we feel there are doubts on the ground with many of todays rivals, is therefore worthy of a decent win bet. We do have a slight doubt about whether it will truly get 6f on soft/heavy ground although our gut feeling is that it will, hence the win only approach.

There may be something else later on but we will be let everybody know in due course if there is.

All the best