NAP of the Day: 5/2 about Burke colt looks Fantastic value

It's to Merseyside we go on Friday for the Betfred-sponsored card at Haydock in search of a welcome winner for the NAP of the Day column.

Eleven go to post for the Betfred 'Bet Builder' EBF Restricted Novice Stakes over seven furlongs at Haydock on Thursday and it's Karl Burke's MR FANTASTIC I fancy to come out on top.

The two-year-old son of Showcasing made his debut at Hamilton last month and could 'only' manage third having been sent off the 11/10 favourite, but there was a good amount of promise in his performance.

He broke slowly and had to be pushed along by jockey Clifford Lee, who maintains the partnership on Friday, shortly after, but he kept to the task nicely and was staying on all the way until the line.

Therefore, this step up in trip at a testing track like Haydock therefore ought to suit and in general I expect him to come on leaps and bounds for the run.

Clearly the 58,000gns purchase shows ability at home, for he holds a handful of eye-catching entries - most notably the G2 Betfred Champagne Stakes at Doncaster's St Leger meeting in September.

It's fair to say that potential engagement will not be fulfilled if Mr Fantastic can't get off the mark here at the second attempt, for this is a relatively modest affair.

Charlie Johnston's Footwork and Cymbidium for David O'Meara are the selection's biggest threats according to the 19:25 Haydock Odds.

The pair boast an experience edge having both run twice to date, but ultimately they don't have a win between them and the standard set is nothing more than average.

For me, the unraced Surprise Again (Richard Fahey) and Eternal Elixir (Archie Watson) represent greater dangers. They're both well-bred, well-connected and in the case of the latter also fetched a pretty penny, so a market check is advised on that front.

But all thing's considered, I think Mr Fantastic can improve substantially on the first run of his career and get the job done here.

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