NAP of the Day: All Grand for McCain at Wetherby

There is high-quality jumps action in Britain on Tuesday, with cards at Wetherby and Exeter taking punters through the afternoon. There is also an eight-race all-weather offering from Wolverhampton in the evening.

Although the Cheltenham Festival is in the rear-view mirror and the Flat season is just over the horizon, the jumps action remains where the focus is and Wetherby and Exeter provide Tuesday’s entertainment.

Perhaps the most interesting race on the day is the 15:35 at Wetherby, a 3m novices' handicap chase. Only five have been declared, but many of them could be set for a productive spring and autumn. Our Tuesday NAP is one of the five, and is one with which to take on the likely favourite who is trained by Nicky Henderson.

Today's Horse Races

15:35 Wetherby - Grand Albert @ 3/1

The last two runs from De Tellers Fortune are typical for a young Nicky Henderson chaser. The promise is often there, and he looked one to keep an eye on when winning at Taunton. However, he followed that with a pretty deplorable run at Wincanton, for which soft ground got the blame.

He is back on ground officially described as good at Wetherby, and he is of course respected. But at the prices he can be taken on, especially with a progressive rival like Grand Albert.

The selection has a similar arc to De Tellers Fortune. He won two starts back, by a yawning 25 lengths, and it was over this very course and distance.

He then ran at Kelso in mid-February. He tried to lay up with the leader that day, but his jumping let him down and he trailed in third.

In hindsight, it was asking a lot to chase down that particular horse. Myretown won that day, and followed up by winning the Ultima at last week's Cheltenham Festival.

The horse that finished between Myretown and Grand Albert that day, Dare To Shout, had been second to Grand Albert at Wetherby the time before. He too has boosted the form, by finishing a good second back at Kelso three weeks later.

Grand Albert is also returning to better ground, and he will also wear first-time cheekpieces. Given his tendency to throw in a mistake at this early stage of his chasing career, that makes sense.

With conditions in his favour and excuses for his most recent flop, Grand Albert can bounce back now and is also likely to be overlooked by the market, with the likes of De Tellers Fortune having a flashier profile.

Nap Of The Day from Betfred Insights.