Nap of the Day: July Cup entry to set up Newmarket bid

Following a near-miss on Tuesday, it was great to land a 3/1 winner on Wednesday for Nap of the Day followers.

In a bid to go again 24 hours later, I'm taken to the East Coast, where an exciting young sprinter hopes to book his ticket for a Group 1 next month.

I'm taking a chance on the money coming for the race-fit and penalty-free Spy Chief - ensuring a better price for my selection - in what looks a two-horse race at Yarmouth on Thursday.

John & Thady Gosden's three-year-old son of Kingman receives a handy seven pounds from his main market rival, who I'll get onto shortly, after a narrow defeat on the all-weather at Kempton about a fortnight ago.

However, I question the strength of that form - and the decision to drop him back to six furlongs. The Godolphin-owned gelding struggled at the trip on debut and is a half-brother to Dante winner Telecaster and Mistral Star, who did the majority of her racing over 1m4f+.

He's also a half-sibling to Al Suhail, a bit of a seven-furlong specialist who failed in all three attempts over 6f.

Alternatively, William Haggas' ALMERAQ - a son of Middle Park hero Dark Angel from the family of Group 1-winning sprinters Fairyland and Dream Ahead - looks a pacey individual suited to such distances.

The Shadwell-owned colt was just behind subsequent winner Fast Track Harry (rated 90) and in front of Spirit Of Farhh (87) on debut at Newbury back in September, before blitzing a field of seven at Yarmouth a month later.

He was a widening three-and-three-quarter lengths ahead of Tom Clover's Winnebago (87), successful on his next appearance at Lingfield this February, who had the rest of the field over two lengths adrift.

The selection looked smart on the East Coast, earning rave reviews from jockey Jim Crowley, who said: "He's exciting and I really like him." The 47-year-old also suggested he would be even better next year, which is music to my ears.

If he does improve at three, which his entry in the July Cup at Newmarket suggests, he could be exciting indeed.

It's fair to say if he's going to take up that Group 1 engagement, he has to be winning a race of this quality. Spy Chief aside, it's a very modest affair.

Taakteek, Bullington Bry, What A Recovery and La Lunita are impossible to advise on what they've shown to date, while the two debutants Correspondence and Magic Boy make nothing more than slight appeal as far as I'm concerned.

It will be, as the odds suggest, a major surprise if this doesn't go to one of the top two in the market.

Unfortunately, Almeraq is much skinnier than I expected at time of publication, so I'm taking a chance on a bit of a drift before the off, and suggesting this one at SP.

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