Nap of the Day: In-form Harlington can go in again

Sunday’s National Hunt meetings have been hit hard by the weather and we’ve already lost Exeter to a waterlogged track, so I'm looking to the all-weather card at Chelmsford for the Nap of the Day.

Trainer Charlie Clover is in excellent form and his representative, who won at Lingfield last time out, looks well set to follow up off a six-pound higher mark.

This is a very interesting race for the grade and while you can make a solid case for several runners, the Charlie Clover-trained HARLINGTON is easily the most logical choice.

This horse is much more at home on the all-weather, although he did also manage to win on the turf at Chepstow over the summer, and he has four wins and four placed efforts to his name in 16 starts on artificial surfaces.

The son of Hunter’s Light returned to winning ways in an average race for previous connections at Wolverhampton in September and was a neck away from going in again at Bath after that.

Adaptable with regards to trip, he has won over anything from an extended 1m1f to 1m4f and almost won over 1m5f in the autumn. The drop back to 1m2f clearly didn’t bother him at Lingfield last time out, as he went on to win with plenty in hand.

Harlington was in touch with the leaders throughout and Liam Wright asked for an effort with a couple of furlongs to go. The response was immediate and he quickly made progress, kicking clear to score by two lengths. There was plenty left in the tank that day.

Luke Wright was claiming 3lb then and he won’t get the extra assistance this time around, as Rowan Scott comes in to take the ride. Striking while the iron is hot is rarely a bad idea, however, and he may well prove capable of defying a 6lb rise.

Two of trainer Charlie Clover's three runners over the last couple of weeks have managed to get the job done, one of which was Harlington.

David Simcock’s Charlatan appears to be one of the most notable dangers, as he won at Wolverhampton in December and was just denied by My Boy Harry over 7f at Chelmsford last time out. The 1m2f trip isn’t necessarily his cup of tea, however.

Click the link for all the latest Horse Racing Odds

Tune into Betfred Insights regularly to find our experts' Nap of the Day