Nap of the Day: Wicket Keeper can pass the test at Newcastle

There’s a nice mix of action on offer on Monday, with a little something to cater to every racing fan’s tastes. We were treated to a phenomenal weekend of racing, with the highlight being the Aintree Festival, featuring the Grand National. There’s still plenty going on as a new week begins and the action will be thoroughly competitive.

Leicester host their first Flat fixture of the year, while there are also National Hunt cards on offer from Hexham and Fakenham. Newcastle provides the evening entertainment with a seven-race all-weather card, where the highlight is a Class 3 6f handicap. My Nap of the Day follows...

19:00 Newcastle Odds

Newcastle’s feature race is an intriguing Class 3 handicap over 6f and there are several candidates to consider. The one runner who makes the most appeal is the Antony Brittain-trained WICKET KEEPER, who remains lightly raced in handicap company.

This son of Kodi Bear got off the mark at the second time of asking, for previous connections in a Catterick maiden last May. Five of the beaten horses have managed to win at least once since, suggesting that the form is pretty solid.

He showed signs of inexperience that day, initially racing prominently before losing ground after a couple of furlongs. He kept on well to score by a length-and-a-quarter in the end however, and he saw the trip out well once the penny dropped.

Running in a better race at Doncaster after that, a 7lb penalty made absolutely no difference and he was actually even more impressive. He was much more professional throughout and never saw another rival, making all the running to score by just shy of three lengths.

Runner-up Goyard went on to win his next start by six lengths and followed up under a penalty after that. Making his handicap debut at Yarmouth next time, Wicket Keeper struggled a little on that occasion and could manage only fourth in a five-runner race.

That appeared to be no more than a blip however, as he bounced right back to form when second by a neck on the all-weather at Wolverhampton on his final start for Edward Bethell. The handicapper raised him 2lb for that success but there should be more to come.

Hamad Al Jehani’s Evening Saigon looks like a potential danger, as we haven’t seen the best of him yet, and the in-form Grant Wood is entitled to be in the mix once again.

Brittain’s four-year-old shaped like he needed the run on his seasonal debut over course and distance last time out and being on the wrong side didn’t exactly help. We should see a much sharper gelding on this occasion and he can return to winning ways here.

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