The Lincolnshire trainer Nick Kent has a record of steady improvement in recent seasons and now seems in line for a landmark victory with Gonalston Cloud (3.10) at Haydock. The nine-year-old chaser looks the pick of the weights for this staying handicap chase, a series final whose £31,000 to the winner would nearly double Kent’s prize money for the season.
Handicap chases have been the making of Gonalston Cloud, who has won all three starts this winter. Though he has climbed two stones in the weights, he has earned that and still looks fairly treated on his revised mark.
That said, he could certainly do with cutting out the mistakes that marred his latest Catterick success but perhaps this flatter track will suit better. Soft ground seems important to him and the forecast says he will get it or something like it.
2.00 Haydock The unsettling ‘0’ in the form-figures next to Five In A Row’s name comes from the novice handicap chase at the Cheltenham Festival, where he never got into the argument. He is hardly the first useful animal to get lost in a hugely competitive contest there but had won his two previous starts over fences this season and may resume his progress in this less threatening environment.
2.15 Kempton After the improvement shown this year by Our Channel, All-Weather Finals Day was under consideration. However, it seems that William Haggas would rather come here for this more winnable contest, the chestnut having seemed to take well to this right-handed circuit when scoring last time.
2.35 Haydock The unexposed youngster Hainan appeals, having improved for the step up in distance to win at Catterick last month. Sue Smith’s grey should appreciate the likely stronger pace here.
2.50 Kempton The obvious one would be Barsanti, a facile winner on his handicap debut last time who will surely not be stopped by a mere 10lb hike. But he will be a short price and has a less experienced jockey aboard for this sterner test, so a chance is taken on Master Of Finance, from the in-form Mark Johnston yard. First time out seems the time to catch this five-year-old, whose only successes in the past two seasons have been on his reappearance. He is far from thrown in but is entitled to be competitive, at the very least, if things fall right.
3.25 Kempton The easy-to-like Spring Loaded is a progressive sprinter, the winner of five of his last seven starts. A 2lb rise for the latest of those successes would not stop him if he was in the same robust health this time.
3.45 Haydock Clyne has seemed in a different league to his rivals in his last two handicap hurdles. This will be much tougher but Evan Williams’s six-year-old looks up to the task.
Follow this link for Greg Wood’s preview of the Dubai World Cup meeting at Meydan.
