Nap of the Day: Home Free to score for in-form Skelton team

Lots of racing action in store on Monday with as many as seven meetings down for decision across Britain and Ireland. Jumps fare comes from Ayr and Wexford, while they race on the Flat at Leicester, Redcar and Galway in the afternoon before evening all-weather meetings at Newcastle and Southwell.

There are 54 races across the meetings and our Nap of the Day runs at Ayr for a Dan Skelton team with 21 per cent strike-rate across recent weeks as his string begins to emerge from the summer holidays.

Dan Skelton has been installed as the favourite to win the trainers' championship in Britain for the first time this season. He's up for the battle, but is all too aware that a winter of slogging around the British Isles could count for little when reigning champion Willie Mullins unleashes some big guns at the major spring festivals.

"It's a privilege to be in that position (favourite for the title), but take away the theory, the actual reality is it's going to be very hard," Skelton said at Cheltenham on Saturday. "It'll be six months of hard work from us and if Willie turns up in month five and does what he can sometimes do, then month six is going to be a real battle!"

Skelton has a fine team heading north to Ayr on Monday as Scotland's premier venue gets up and running for a new jumps season and he'll certainly be disappointed if he leaves empty-handed.

Amongst his main contenders should be HOME FREE in the handicap chase over 2m½f at 15:28 in the hands of the trainer's brother, Harry.

The Soldier Of Fortune gelding showed ability in bumpers and stepped up on that last season, generally running well in four hurdles starts as he won on heavy ground at Lingfield over this trip in March.

He signed off by finishing second on his chasing bow at Hexham (1m7½, good) in May in a race that has thrown up a handful of subsequent winners.

After a summer break and a wind op, Home Free returned this month and duly scored on a second chasing start at Uttoxeter (2m, good).

He tended to jump to his right at the midlands venue and could do with tidying up in that regard, but he ultimately got the better of the game runner-up Cabhfuilfungi with a bit up his sleeve and a 4lb rise in the ratings looks manageable.

He has a fitness advantage on his six rivals at Ayr, with the likes of Captain Ivan and Thistle Ask returning from long absences, and he should be good enough to take care of the consistent but ultimately frustrating Travail D'orfevre and class-dropping Carcaci Castle.

This is an Extra Place Race, so Betfred will be paying 3 Places (1/5 odds) instead of 2.

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