Nap of the Day: Paws For Thought can arrest form at Haydock

There are seven race meetings taking place across Britain and Ireland on Friday, with action from Musselburgh, Brighton, Thirsk, Tipperary, Wexford, Haydock and Newmarket. That gives us plenty of betting opportunities to consider with a total of 46 contests taking place.

We’ve got you covered and have picked out our strongest fancy on the day for you to consider. The horse in question is trained by Donald McCain and has tumbled down the weights. Could the drop to 0-75 company see McCain’s charge return to winning ways?

20:30 Haydock Odds

Haydock stages a six-race card on Friday evening and it could pay to hang around for the final contest of the meeting.

Donald McCain is better known for his exploits over jumps, but the Cheshire-based trainer has a runner on the Flat in the middle of summer and Paws For Thought looks to represent some value in Haydock’s seven-furlong handicap at 20:30.

The seven-year-old has recorded form figures of 8, 9, 9, 8 and 9 in five runs this season, but there are a few reasons to expect a revival on Merseyside.

The son of Requinto won over course and distance on his most recent visit to Haydock and that 2023 success came off a mark of 84. McCain’s charge then went on to follow up at Hamilton on his next start and the Scottish victory elevated the seven-year-old to a career-high mark of 94.

It was only last year that Paws For Thought won a decent handicap at Chester off a rating of 84 and the seven-year-old then pitched up in the competitive Ayr Silver Cup.

McCain’s charge hasn’t been at his best this season, but the gelding has fallen to a career-low mark of 73, and it’s not simply a case of a horse dropping down the weights, because his run at Chester 13 days ago wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the ninth-place finish suggests.

Paws For Thought didn’t get a clear run through at the tricky Roodee, but he travelled into the contest fairly well and he wasn’t given a tough time after racing on what appeared to be an unfavorable part of the track.

The Chester run should have put McCain’s charge spot on for his trip to Haydock, and the fact that the seven-year-old has been sent off at 10-1, 12-1, 10-1 and 4-1 joint-favourite in his last four starts, suggests connections believe there is some spark left in the gelding.

Paws For Thought drops into 0-75 company for the first time in his career, while good ground will suit fine, and with capable conditional jockey Charlie Maggs taking off five pounds the Haydock visit rates a golden opportunity for McCain’s runner to score a second course and distance success.

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