Nap of the Day: Take 5/2 about this Cheltenham Festival hopeful

It was almost back-to-back value losers, as I call them, for this column as Wednesday's 5/2 selection was punted off the boards at Wetherby before a poor round of jumping left him with lots to do. However, the brilliant Jonjo O'Neill Jr. pulled it out the fire and we're off the mark for the week.

It's to Carlisle we go on Thursday for an exciting young filly with Cheltenham Festival aspirations who makes her debut over hurdles. She's the Nap of the Day.

If LA MARQUISE is going to line up at Cheltenham in five months' time for the Mares' Novices' Hurdle as her trainer Jamie Snowden - who won the race a year and a half ago with You Wear It Well - hopes, then she ought to prove hard to beat in this novices' hurdle over 2m1f.

That's with respect to her 10 rivals, especially Olly Murphy's Woodland Park and Gentleman Bill for the Greenall & Guerriero operation who are both promising in their own right.

But the selection, who is said to "jump brilliantly" at home, has been labelled as "very smart" by her Lambourn-based handler, who has the Festival in his sights.

The four-year-old is a half-sister to Willie Mullins' Group 3 winner Mister Policeman who made a taking debut in a Stratford bumper last November, pulling clear of an admittedly modest field in good style.

She was disappointing when immediately tried in Listed company at Prestbury Park, but Snowden has admitted he regrets running her there, against the boys in heavy ground on just her second start.

That was forgotten when she won nicely at Chepstow exactly 80 days later, prior to a cracking effort in the mares' Grade 2 at Aintree's Grand National Festival in April.

She was third of 16 on Merseyside, behind Ben Pauling's Diva Luna, who's also been subject to rave reviews from her trainer, and the promising Jubilee Alpha for Paul Nicholls.

That form has been well-advertised in the meantime, including a 21-length maiden hurdle success from the sixth-placed Listentoyourheart, who was a couple of lengths behind La Marquise.

As far as I'm concerned, the form of that Aintree race entitles her to be favourite in this company - and weight is given to the way Snowden talks about her. He adores her and clearly has very high hopes.

Of course, a chance is taken on fitness, as is often the case at this time of year, but the yard's fancied runners have gone well enough of late so there's reason to be optimistic on that front.

I'll be very shocked if anything other than the top three in the betting take this - and my bet's on it being La Marquise.

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