Nap of the Day: Roger Pol well worth a pop at 4/1

Frustratingly, the Nap of the Day on Tuesday was pulled-up shortly after making a race-ending mistake while looking, to my eye at least, to be travelling extremely well.

However, I've not lost any faith in my new-found approach of backing chase debutants in handicap company off lowly marks - and it's to Southwell we go on Wednesday for another who fits the bill.

Lambourn-based trainer Jamie Snowden has made a decent start to the 2024/25 Jumps season.

He enjoyed a couple of winners at the weekend, including Idy Wood - a chase debutant, in a handicap, off a potentially favourable mark. Regular readers will know I've had good fun exploiting that tactic of late.

Unfortunately we never got to see if it would have paid off again on Tuesday, as the Nap's was soon pulled-up following a terrible mistake at the seventh fence, but I'm going to the well again 24 hours later with ROGER POL in the opener at Southwell.

The six-year-old was a respectable bumper horse who reached a mark of 119 after his first four runs over hurdles last term, culminating in a narrow, weight-giving second to a 118-rated Ben Pauling inmate at the end of January.

He was highly-tried next time out, in a Grade 3 handicap at Sandown in March, but he was never travelling and was pulled-up before the second-last flight.

The son of Shantou disappointed again at Taunton a month later, finishing an extremely remote 10/13, with Snowden suggesting to the stewards post-race that his runner was feeling the effects of a long season.

If you're willing to forgive those two performances, and gamble on the wind surgery he underwent in September having its desired effect, Roger Pol must be of interest in this modest-looking novices' handicap chase.

A point-to-point recruit and full-brother to Gordon Elliott's 149-rated chaser Minella Crooner, the selection could prove a significantly better chaser than he ever was a hurdler and leave a lowly mark of 117 way behind.

Of course, he may need the run. It's not only his first outing in 182 days but also his first since the aforementioned wind op, so he's entitled to need it, but with the yard in good nick on the whole there's reason to be positive on that front.

Roger Pol's main danger as far as I'm concerned is Next Left. Dan Skelton's runner doesn't appear to be particularly well-handicapped off his mark of 120, but he's been holding his form well and is race-fit, so he's respected at least.

However, the selection could prove much too good for these rivals and is well worth chancing at 4/1.

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