At the time of writing, the rain is apparently “pelting down” at Haydock on Friday evening and the going is already good from good to firm. That probably means some testing conditions for Saturday’s card and that means some careful consideration is needed.
It looks a good quality card on Saturday but there are almost certain to be a load of non-runners if the going turns soft. The pick of the form has been achieved on fast ground so it may pay to delve a bit deeper and find horses that will go in softer ground.
The first horse that stands out is Sir Michael Stoute’s Rye House. He obviously has his problems as he is now five years old and this will be only his ninth start. He impressed me when winning at York last season in soft ground but did not reappear for a year. He finished fifth behind the well-handicapped Clever Cookie but did not have his conditions next time at Newmarket. He could start at a lot shorter than 6-1 if the going continues to deteriorate.
Nabucco is a horse that I have followed since early in his three-year-old career. He is tough and consistent but does not like fast ground. All things considered, it was a decent run to finish third to Amralah at Newbury last month on good ground. He absolutely hacked up in heavy ground at Salisbury last season and he could get a Group 3 success in the Rose Of Lancaster Stakes tomorrow.
Hillstar did not look entirely happy on this sort of ground at Chester in May and I’ve never really been entirely convinced by him. True Story looks overrated and Nabucco can gain revenge on Amralah.
There are some interesting races later in the day, notably the Listed Fillies’ Stakes at 3.25. I am tempted to support Psychometry here but there is no real evidence that she likes soft ground. She was third at Goodwood behind Marsh Daisy but was well beaten. It was her eye-catching run at Ascot that makes her worth keeping an eye on. She never had an inch of space and yet managed to finish full of running within four lengths of the winner. She has a decent race in her, I’m just not sure that it will be tomorrow. Each-way might be the way to go.
Rye House 2.20 Haydock at 6-1 Bet365
Nabucco 2.55 Haydock at 8-1 BetVictor
Psychometry 3.25 Haydock at 10-1 BetVictor (each-way)
