NAP of the Day: Bridget Mary to land Bangor win for Curtis

It's a hectic start to the racing week with no less than seven meetings taking place across Britain and Ireland on Monday. In the UK they go at Bangor-on-Dee over jumps as well as Redcar, Lingfield (AW), Newcastle (AW) and Wolverhampton (AW) on the Flat, while it's a Bank Holiday in Ireland and they race over jumps at Wexford and on the Flat at Galway for their sold-out seasonal finale Student Raceday.

Monday's NAP is returning to action for trainer Rebecca Curtis at Bangor and could have more to come as a stayer over fences having signed off last season in style at the Welsh layout.

14:47 Bangor

Fast Racing Results

14:47 Bangor-on-Dee – Bridget Mary @ 2/1

Pembrokeshire-based trainer Rebecca Curtis has seen some ups and down in her training career and 2025 certainly began on an upward curve.

Haiti Couleurs won the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March, a sixth festival success for the Fforest Farm handler.

As if that contribution wasn't enough, the eight-year-old followed it up by winning the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse in April as Curtis' star downed a host of top home-based contenders in their own back yard.

He could have Gold Cup ambitions this season, says the trainer, who is setting sail into this season with a team of 33 horses – a number she's content with, though she'd happy to be in the shop window for some more additions.

"I've never wanted loads of horses, I just want quality and it would be nice to have the chance to train for a few big owners and for them just to send you one or two horses," she told the Racing Post’s Big Jump Off looking ahead to this season.

Whether or not BRIDGET MARY features high on the ranks of Curtis' current incumbents is open to debate but the seven-year-old Sholokhov definitely has some scope for better from her current mark of 91.

She landed the second chasing success of her career at Bangor (3m, good) in April, going clear under 5lb claimer Jamie Brace for a decisive victory with her rivals strung out behind.

She's going to be 8lb higher in the ratings on her comeback but Brace will take off his allowance again and, all told, they'll be getting 26lb from the other last-time-out winner in the field for the Archway Homes Malpas Handicap Chase, Betterforeveryone.

Alan King's gelding won over four-miles at Hexham in March and joins I See The Sea in presenting a challenge to Bridget Mary now – the latter a wide-margin scorer in a Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Chase at Wincanton in the spring.

Bridget Mary is, though, proven over course and distance – never a bad thing at Bangor – and still with scope for better at this modest level.

She has won off a break before and can make the most of this excellent opportunity to do so again.

Nap Of The Day with Betfred Insights.