NAP of the Day: Never Better the motto for Varian at Newbury

There are six more meetings across Britain and Ireland on a busy Thursday. Action comes from Ffos Las, Newbury, Carlisle, Navan and Chelmsford as well as the Racing League meeting at Southwell as the flat holds sway.

My NAP of the Day is an unexposed three-year-old making his turf bow for trainer Roger Varian at Newbury and he could be well treated with improvement forecast.

It's been a tough few weeks for Newmarket trainer Roger Varian after he lost the support of Derby-winning owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum.

He became the second major owner to remove his team of horses from Carlburg Stables this season, following Amo Racing supremo Kia Joorabchian's decision to send his horses elsewhere in May.

The trainer was quick to reiterate that his focus is on “continuing our own successful season” and he has a returning young horse with potential in NEVER BETTER at Newbury.

The gelded son of No Nay Never won on his second start at Kempton over 7f on the Polytrack in March and was then a close third at Southwell over a mile on his handicap bow in April.

Those contests have thrown up their share of winners and there is nothing in his breeding to suggest this three-year-old won't handle the grass on his return from a four-month break.

He has been left on a mark of 74 by the handicapper and is an unexposed sort with scope for better in the hands of James Doyle here.

Fellow three-year-old Devoirs Choice for Ed Walker, who tops the 18:30 Newbury Odds at time of publication, was a winner at Redcar (1m, good to firm) this month and is a threat, alongside another unexposed three-year-old in Rogue Encore for Peter Chapple-Hyam and the Richard Hannon-trained course winner Rich – with that filly having finished third over 7f here in June when last seen.

The Varian/Doyle alliance enjoyed a welcome winner at York's Ebor festival last week with Shadow Dance and the trainer has had his string in good form across recent weeks as he looks to prove the removal of those ten horses in the Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum colours hasn’t had a detrimental effect.

Never Better is the motto from the yard, despite that setback, and a winner at Newbury's evening meeting on Thursday can provide another tonic.

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