Nap of the Day: 5/2 Hunter looks overpriced on Thursday

It's been a frustrating week or so for this Nap of the Day column, so Wednesday's 9/2 winner was a very welcome return to form.

We go to Market Rasen on Thursday hoping to build on that, with one I think is being very much overlooked in the current market.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Henry Daly's MOON HUNTER open 5/2 for this novices' handicap chase over three miles at Market Rasen on Thursday.

I expected the seven-year-old gelding to at least be vying for favouritism.

Kelce is the market leader at time of publication, but I think he's very opposable. He's having his third run in just 14 days and is up three pounds having finished second - without any obvious excuses - twice. He also steps up in class here.

I'm convinced Montregard is a good bit better than his mark (109) but he looked far from a natural chaser on his debut in this discipline at Wetherby last month, which makes him hard to advise.

Outsider of the four Inoui Machin put in an even worse round of jumping on his fencing debut at Ludlow exactly three weeks ago and has been dropped just a pound by the handicapper, so he's in the same boat.

Meanwhile, I think Moon Hunter has a lot going for him.

He was a good novice hurdler in the 2022/23 season but failed to live up to a promising debut over fences at Cheltenham in October last year, beating just one horse home in his subsequent two starts before falling at the third fence in a competitive handicap at Newbury back in March.

I suspect he had problems along the way, given the layoff between his final couple of outings last year. That's just a guess, though.

He made his return from 203 days off the track at Chepstow just over a month ago, at the Jump Season Opener meeting, and finished fourth, beaten 14 lengths, in a novices' handicap that's been very well-advertised in the meantime.

The winner, Destroytheevidence, finished a close second off five pounds higher at Newbury the other day, while the runner-up bolted up by 15 lengths at Aintree last weekend after a three-pound rise.

Beachcomber, who was third, ran with plenty of credit at Exeter last Thursday and it's worth noting the fifth-placed Isaac Des Obeaux, who was nearly four lengths adrift of the selection in Wales, is thought plenty of by trainer Paul Nicholls.

That rates a strong piece of form and Moon Hunter, off a pound lower and with first-time cheekpieces applied, ought to come on plenty for it.

If so, he could be very hard to beat - especially if his rivals' suspect jumping is put to the test. Don't be surprised to see Sam Twiston-Davies, who keeps the ride, try to make all.

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