Nap of the Day: Silly time in Sussex

I'm standing in for Owen in terms of providing Tuesday's Nap of the Day, so fingers crossed we can do you, and him, proud.

I'm a big fan of Brighton, and though I've looked from the promenade to see the track way up in the hills above, I'm ashamed to say I've never been racing there. It looks lovely, and is just the kind of quirky racetrack we're so rightly famous for in this country. Here we go then ..

Horse Racing Odds

17:00 Brighton - Cogsworth @ 5/4

Jockey Silvestre De Sousa is enjoying a cracking time back on these shores. The three-time former champion has a longstanding association with Newmarket trainer Chris Dwyer, and they combine for what I hope will be a successful Nap of the Day on Tuesday in the form of COGSWORTH.

The three-year-old Time Test gelding began life on a stiff enough handicap mark last September (68). He duly slid down to 53 courtesy of some pretty ordinary efforts, then was a promising second under this jockey in April. Up just a pound he then struck for the first time the following month at Chelmsford over this 7f trip and basement Class 6 grade.

Later in May he appeared here at Brighton, and very cosily won a similar contest off 58 by over 2l. Again, Silvestre was in the plate. He's been freshened up since with a 42-day break and is looking to defy the handicapper again, now off 64.

I'm never entirely content backing horses to defy penalties. The clue is in the title - penalty. Something designed to put the handbrake on horses threatening to run up sequences at this kind of level and disturb the delicate equilibrium that underpins the whole concept of handicaps.

However; now and then we get genuine improvers for whom the penny has well and truly begun to drop. This isn't a deep field in my view, and in fact contains others looking to carry their own penalties.

There looks to be plenty of potential pace in the race, and Silvestre has an inside draw (2) to work with around the twists of this 7f roller-coaster in the style of an Epsom, if you will.

Yes, he's up 6lb - at any level not ideal. Two rivals (Havana Mojito and Wedgwood Sapphire) are in a similar boat. Of the others, Khamsin seems to be in the grip of the handicapper himself but is hugely respected. The second horse in Cogsworth's last win has since hosed up at Chepstow, so there's a solidity about the form.

And then there's Silvestre. A pocket dynamo, vastly experienced, and evidently lacking none of the zip that's characterised his career for so many years. It's not mind-blowing but he's on around an 18% strike-rate for the last 14 days and I'm hoping that will be further enhanced on Tuesday.

Nap of the Day from Betfred Insights.