Nap of the Day: Seaview looks sure to make waves at Leicester

Testing conditions are expected at Leicester on Tuesday, so the ability to act in the mud was one of the prerequisite in my search for the Nap of the Day.

There's a lot more to like about my selection, who's one of two in the race for the in-form Olly Murphy.

Despite the presence of stablemate Mister Ursus, the mount of Sean Bowen, I make SEAVIEW ROCK the one to beat in this maiden hurdle over just shy of two miles at Leicester on Tuesday.

First things first, Bowen hasn't opted against the selection. It's not a pecking order. Ben Sutton always rides for his father, Nick.

If the champion jockey had a say, I'm sure he'd be in agreement on the six-year-old son of Saddler's Rock.

After finishing third in an Irish point-to-point back in February 2024, Seaview Rock was sent into training with Dan Skelton, but never made an appearance on the racecourse for the Alcester handler.

At some point in the two years after his run between the flags, he was switched to Olly Murphy's Stratford yard and made his belated debut under rules over course and distance last month.

Sporting a hood on ground officially described as soft (heavy in places), he finished a clear second to the 124-rated, odds-on favourite A Pai De Nom - third in the Lanzarote next time out - for his former trainer.

Back in third, over three lengths adrift, was North Of Richmond for Alex Hales. He's achieved a rating of 117 and was fourth, giving six pounds, to Nicky Henderson's highly-promising Fire Warning at Newbury last week.

The rest of the field, including Tread Carefully who was runner-up to Hurricane Pat at Sandown in November, were a further eight lengths adrift.

As far as I'm concerned, that's comfortably the best form on offer in this 13-strong field.

The aforementioned Mister Ursus is entitled to improve upon his debut at Bangor over two months ago, but it'll need to be at least a stone.

Three Dons is highly-exposed on the flat, but the seven-year-old made a fine start over timber over C&D during the Christmas period and should improve. His form isn't as strong as the selection's, though.

Sutherland is the other likely type according to the betting, but the six-year-old is 0-5 - albeit he's been running in some nice contests. Again, I'm not sure he has the scope for this.

With a bit of improvement and Ben Sutton taking five pounds off his back, I expect Seaview Rock to prove difficult to beat back in the East Midlands.

Click the link for all the latest Horse Racing Odds

Tune into Betfred Insights regularly to find our experts' Nap of the Day