Nap of the Day: Deported to send Southwell rivals packing

It's been a tough few weeks in the aftermath of Cheltenham for my Nap of the Day selections, but with Aintree on the horizon I'm determined to get back to winning ways and build some much-needed confidence.

Starting at Southwell on Tuesday, where I've got my eyes set on a thrice-raced handicap debutant.

I suspect there's a good bit more to come from DEPORTED, who's tipped to strike on seasonal reappearance at Southwell on Tuesday.

Ollie Sangster's three-year-old made a promising start to his career at Sandown in June last year, finishing fourth of six in a maiden that's worked out very well in the meantime.

The winner, Saba Desert, landed the G2 Superlative Stakes at Newmarket on his subsequent start, while the runner-up Boiling Over earned a mark of 90 over the course of the rest of the season. Waterford Castle (third) has been comfortably operating off a mark in the high 70s too.

After Sandown, Sangster decided to put away 'one of his better two-year-olds' for a few months, with a view to getting some ease in the ground around September time.

I'm assuming that never came to fruition, for the son of Territories wasn't seen again on turf, enjoying a couple of spins on the all-weather tracks at Kempton and Wolverhampton instead.

He was just touched off by William Haggas' Zennor Storm, who followed up on return to the venue a couple of months later under a penalty, at Kempton. That one's rated 91 and holds an entry for the €107k Gowran Classic in June.

At Wolverhampton, he was far too free under Jamie Spencer, who maintains the partnership on Tuesday, in the early stages of the race and paid the price late on. He also ran without a front shoe.

Considering that, it wasn't a bad effort at all to end up within three lengths of two smart prospects for James Tate and James Ferguson - Darn Hot Gallop and Art Gallery respectively.

The former went in again at Newcastle that same month and is a possible for the Betfred 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in May, while the latter is 2-2 since including a handicap success off an opening mark of 75.

The suggestion is there's wiggle room in Deported's mark of 78 on that evidence - and to be fair he'll need it in a race this competitive. I'm also quite hopeful about improvement for the step up to a mile.

All of his six rivals are worthy of consideration, but as far as I'm concerned none of their claims are as convincing. He's Nap material.

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