Nap of the Day: Skelton’s Star to shine at Donny

My colleague Alan was on Nap duty on Tuesday and his selection did the business, so I'll be hoping to follow in his footsteps 24 hours later.

It's to Doncaster - providing the course passes a precautionary inspection at 07:30 - we go bidding to do exactly that.

It's not unusual for a Dan Skelton horse to start scaling the handicap ranks after earning a lowly mark - and I'm hoping that's what's happening with GWENNIE MAY STAR.

The five-year-old son of American sire Masterstroke was originally sent into training with Jonjo O'Neill at Jackdaws Castle but transferred to Skelton's Warwickshire operation in early 2024, before even seeing a racecourse.

He showed promise in finishing ninth of 20 in a competitive Newbury bumper won by subsequent £660k buy Regent's Stroll on his debut in March last year, before another encouraging effort at Bangor a few months later.

It's been a different story over obstacles. He was pulled-up on hurdling debut at Worcester in September and beaten a combined 67L in a couple of novice events at Ludlow and Banger in the winter.

There was no immediate improvement for going handicapping off a low mark. In fact, he was even more underwhelming at Hereford just before Christmas, despite a rating of just 97 and jockey Tristan Durrell taking off three pounds.

However, something seemed to click next time out, as he went to Newcastle last month and won a 0-105 affair somewhat snugly.

In rear throughout, he had to pass many rivals to deliver his challenge and was pulling away from the runner-up, who had the rest of the field over eight lengths adrift, at the line.

That rival, Soldier's Leap, looks progressive himself. He was previously second to Henrietta Knight's then 80-rated Motazzen, who has since won two more races and risen 18lbs in the handicap, so the form looks relatively decent too.

This is a step up from Class 5 to Class 4, but it looks a very winnable race at the same time.

Diamond Koda sets the standard in this field of nine, but he's without a win in as many starts, finishing runner-up on six occasions. He looks like a bit of a cliff horse.

The other obvious danger is Benmore, who goes handicapping off an opening mark of 109. I'm not convinced that's justified on what he's achieved to date, though, for as much as he's the most unexposed in the field.

Reforme isn't without a chance, but he's extremely inconsistent and is another yet to taste victory. Imperial Jade races off a featherweight, but she's thoroughly exposed at this point and hasn't even got close to victory in eight starts since her first and only one.

Maxiboy Dagrostis is uninspiring, while the outsiders Lune De La Mer, Scots Poet and Kally Des Bruyeres need something of a revival as far as I'm concerned.

Hopefully Gwennie May Star can continue going the right way. She ought to have gained lots of confidence as a result of that first victory and is backed to go in again at Donny on Wednesday.

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