NAP of the Day: Steel Ally has the mettle to pass Ffos Las test

Surprise, surprise, it's inspection central on Tuesday afternoon - so, once again, in order to land the NAP of the Day we first need a win on the weather front. Fingers crossed.

It goes without saying, it's going to be testing ground at Ffos Las on Tuesday. Winners will require plenty of mettle - and I think the aptly-named Steel Ally fits the bill.

Sam Thomas' five-year-old performed modestly in bumpers last season, but I really liked what I saw from him on his hurdling debut over course and distance exactly a month ago.

The son of Doctor Dino travelled extremely powerfully through heavy ground and looked set for a comfortable victory before a momentum-halting mistake at the final flight allowed the eventual winner to get the better of him.

I liked the way he stuck to the task afterwards, though, and the rest of the field were over 13 lengths behind which gives the form a nice look.

With that run behind him, and the outstanding Harry Cobden taking the reigns, he sets the standard for me.

What about his rivals for this maiden hurdle over two miles? He's got 11 of them - one being the €210,000 purchase Fortunate Man for Jonjo O'Neill/JP McManus. He's an obvious danger, but his PTP form has worked out poorly and taking on race-fit horses on likely heavy ground first time out as just a four-year-old is no simple task.

Of those with form in the book, it's Warren Greatrex's Golden De Coeur who poses the biggest threat. His form could get a boost if The Jukebox Man wins the previous race, but at present he's somewhat uninspiring, especially over the minimum distance which looks unlikely to suit.

I suppose you'd have to give Tedley a sniff, but nothing more - while the rest are very hard to advise.

Steel Ally has few, if any negatives in the context of this race. Trip, track and ground all suit, his trainer's in good form and he has arguably the best jockey in the country on board. I'm expecting a very bold bid.