NAP of the Day: Back Newland & Insole again on Thursday

I'm trusting the same connections responsible for Wednesday's emphatic 11/4 winner on Thursday, as the NAP of the Day comes from the opener at Exeter.

My faith in Dr Richard Newland & Jamie Insole paid off on Wednesday as my 11/4 NAP bolted up at Ludlow, and I'm backing them again 24 hours later with MIRABAD in this novices' hurdle over 2m2½f at Exeter.

The five-year-old son of Gleneagles was a useful Flat operator for Mikel Delzangles in France, finishing runner-up in Listed company on his ultimate start, before a €65k (£54k) switch to current connections late last year.

He was well-supported ahead of his hurdling debut at Wetherby this January, but could 'only' finish fourth of 14. Far too keen to do himself justice, it wasn't a terrible run by any means, considering he was sandwiched between horses rated 116 and 115.

It was just shy of 100 days before he appeared again, due to a missed engagement on account of unsuitable ground, and he got off the mark at Wincanton, beating Paul Nicholls' 110-rated Beny Nahar Road rather cosily in the end.

Weeks later Mirabad was sent to Kempton, where he finished behind Ryan's Rocket for Fergal O'Brien - now rated 122 and declared for the G2 Persian War Novices' Hurdle at Chepstow on Friday - and ahead of Jane Williams' Excelero (124), who had the rest of the field trailing by over 30 lengths.

There's enough evidence there to suggest the selection's opening mark of 116 is very fair - and if he's able to run to his rating, let alone improve on it, after being gelded and off the track for 157 days then he ought to prove tough to beat in this modest affair.

His main danger is, as the 13:48 Exeter Odds suggests, Call To Duty.

If this was a handicap, the selection would have to concede nine pounds to Emma Lavell's five-year-old. Instead, it's just seven - a penalty for his triumph at Wincanton - and while racing isn't always so straightforward, I'm confident about who wins that particular battle.

Of the rest, I'd give Sam's Amour and Hola Hermosa slight chances. However, they need to improve significantly and that's unlikely as far as I'm concerned. Everything else is very hard to advise.

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