Nap of the Day: Tiger showing can add to Derham’s delight

Premier racedays at Newbury and Kelso highlight Saturday's action, while punters can also look forward to afternoon racing at Bangor-on-Dee.

It's off to Wolverhampton and Newcastle for all-weather evening fare, while Irish fans' focus will be on Navan. Kelso is the port of call for our Nap of the Day for Saturday, and you can find our reasoning below.

14:25 Kelso Odds

So, we head to Kelso for our nap, with NORDIC TIGER tipped to continue Harry Derham's recent run of winners in the 14:25.

The 2m5f Handicap Hurdle features Betfred's Extra Place Race offer, with them paying each-way terms of 1/5 on the top-five finishers.

Lambourn handler Derham finished February with a personal best of 12 winners and, after another success with Queensbury Boy at Newbury on Friday, it is worth searching for something special from the young trainer.

Ascending Lark added to Derham's recent run with a four-and-a-half length victory at Ludlow on Thursday, and while Sergeant Fury failed to back it up at Chepstow later that day, Queensbury Boy ran in to add to the stable's recent successes on Friday.

Nordic Tiger is one of nine Derham's inmates set to run on Saturday and the first of three to go at Kelso.

The six-year-old won three of his four starts last season, progressing nicely through handicaps and he feels due a big performance, with connections going well and Alice Stevens retained in the saddle and claiming a handy 3lb.

Nordic Tiger is still to win in four starts this time around, most recently finishing well back at this venue as he tailed off in February.

That outing came over 2m6½f, while this is a 2m5f contest, which may help. It is also worth noting that all but one of his previous seasonal showings have been on soft ground and the Good, Good to Soft expected in the Borders should be of benefit.

Getting off to a good start will be vital. The gelding has developed a nasty habit of being held up and clearly does his best work when racing prominently.

It's not all bad news for punters, though, and those recent misses mean he has been dropped just 1lb above his last winning rating.

Ballyfort could provide opposition a fortnight after making a winning return at Ayr following a wind operation, but that 11-length success has earned him an extra 9lb, while I Am Max leads the market but another bold showing may not be enough.

With Derham's stable flying high and Stevens, a talented rider providing a potentially decisive claim, the ingredients are there and the price on Nordic Tiger looks too good to ignore.

This is an Extra Place Race, meaning that Betfred will pay 5 Places (1/5 Odds) instead of 4.

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