Nap of the Day: We go again with 4/1 Spirits Bay

Once again, the first hurdle in front of my Nap of the Day is a racecourse inspection.

Fingers crossed Haydock gets the go-ahead - I'm local and the forecast looks promising - so we can finally see a horse that's been on my radar for a couple of weeks now.

I put up SPIRITS BAY as my Nap on the third day of the year, but unfortunately the card at Sandown was abandoned on account of the weather.

Hopefully that doesn't happen again on Saturday - an inspection has been called for 08:30 at Haydock - and we at least get a run for our money. I'm no expert, but the local forecast sure looks promising.

I'm expecting more than just a run for our money, though. I'm convinced Nigel Twiston-Davies' lightly-raced seven-year-old is well-treated and more than capable of winning a race like this.

He showed plenty of ability as a novice, most notably with his six-and-a-half-length beating of Donnacha at Exeter last March, and very much caught the eye on his reappearance in a warm handicap at Cheltenham just before Christmas.

The son of Black Sam Bellamy finished fifth of 14, over seven lengths adrift of tearaway winner Mirabad, which was highly-encouraging given how he went about business after being friendless in the betting.

He was uncharacteristically keen early on, presumably a touch too fresh on his first go in open company following 265 days on the sidelines, but made good headway late in the piece to draw alongside the eventual second approaching the final flight.

Spirits Bay tired in the run-in, but that's understandable considering he used a lot of unnecessary energy at various points throughout the contest. I thought he shaped like a horse who very much needed his first outing of the season.

It's good form, too. The runner-up wasn't beaten far at all off three pounds higher in better company at Windsor on Friday, the third-placed Bo Zenith is favourite for a competitive race at Ascot a bit later on Saturday and the third was bidding for a four-timer heading into Prestbury Park.

The selection ought to improve plenty for that run and he'll relish conditions on Merseyside. His form on ground officially soft or worse reads 2F11.

This is also significantly easier-looking assignment than the one he faced at HQ. Bar Oh My Johnny, his rivals don't look up to much.

The favourite is of course the main danger. I think he's got more ability than his opening mark of 116 suggests, but is he professional enough yet? He jumped poorly on debut at Ludlow last October before falling at the last in Bangor subsequently. He was a lot more polished at Uttoxeter before Christmas, but that wasn't a great race and he wasn't under much pressure. His jumping is absolutely going to be tested here against more experienced rivals.

If on a going day, I fancy Spirits Bay has as much of a chance, if not better. In my book, he's excellent value at 3/1 or greater.

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