Nap of the Day: It’s now or never for Murphy’s 2/1 mare

Despite significant support in the betting, my Nap of the Day on Wednesday was beaten a long way after a poor round of jumping.

However, I'm keeping the faith in the in-form Olly Murphy just 24 hours later, for I think he's found an excellent opportunity for one of his to get back on track.

There's no doubt Olly Murphy's LITTLE MISS DANTE is running out of chances, but I think she deserves at least one more at Warwick on Thursday.

The six-year-old daughter of Kayf Tara looked a nice prospect at the start of her career. She backed up an encouraging second on her rules debut in a bumper at Huntingdon in January last year with an emphatic 8½-length success at Southwell, before two cosy victories in novice hurdles at Ayr and Uttoxeter later that year.

She was then sent to Haydock just before Christmas for a Listed assignment and finished a respectable third, six lengths behind the winner and closing the gap with every stride.

Things went wayward soon after, though. She was pulled-up on her next start in the G2 Jane Seymour Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Sandown in February this year following a 54-day break, two months before failing to complete again in Listed company at Cheltenham.

Murphy said "she was beaten leaving the paddock before the Jane Seymour" in a recent stable tour with Sporting Life, and that the rest of her campaign was a write-off as a result.

She was dropped three pounds by the handicapper after those two DNFs and had wind surgery in September, prior to her reappearance in a mares' handicap hurdle at Bangor just over three weeks ago.

Little Miss Dante failed to reward punters who backed her into 6/4f, but under the circumstances I think it was a fine run. Nothing more, nothing less.

For me, she shaped like a horse who needed the run - perfectly excusable given it was not only her first run in almost 200 days but her first since having her wind done too.

So, I think she's well worth another chance with that run under her belt and off an unchanged mark. There's also every chance this 2m5f trip - the furthest she's tackled to date - can bring about further improvement.

This 0-125 affair is a very winnable race, too. Bar the rank outsider Sedge Wren, who was a long way behind the selection in north Wales, every one of her rivals are returning from over 180 days off the track.

Masked Dance, who's our main danger according to the odds at time of publication, is up seven pounds to a career-high mark of 116 for winning a modest-enough contest at Aintree in the spring, while I don't think the handicapper has done The Lord Maid any favours with an opening mark of 125.

Georgi Girl, For Gina and Looking As You Are also hold no secrets from the handicapper as far as I'm concerned.

If the selection is back to something like her best, she ought to be very hard to beat in this company, under these circumstances.

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