Nap of the Day: Trust in Tryst and ‘The Sniper’ to hit the target

A swift return to the winners' enclosure for Nap of the Day followers on Thursday, courtesy of The Untamed (4/5) at Ripon. He won like the good thing the market, and I, felt he was. It's nice when that happens. Very nice.

Hopefully it's a similar story in the Midlands on Friday, with a first-time handicapper getting a confident vote from yours truly.

I've seen it suggested that TRYST was "disappointing" at Kempton last month. Talk about a harsh assessment...

George Boughey's three-year-old daughter of Arc hero Sottsass was beaten at 10/11f in Surrey, but the winner was rated 13lbs superior and in receipt of four pounds.

The runner-up had six pounds on us, while it was seven for the third - and she was also getting weight. The selection was within two lengths of that front three.

My reading of the form is very different. As far as I'm concerned, Tryst has run to a mark in the high 80s - if not early 90s.

Her two-year-old form is looking good, too. Following a modest debut at Goodwood in July, she was just touched off by Charlie Appleby's Romantic Symphony, a full-sister to Yibir, at Newmarket in September. She looks a Group filly in the making after bolting up at Kempton just over a week ago.

Back in third at HQ was Forever True for the Gosdens and Lady Bamford. She's yet to run again, but does still hold an entry for the Betfred Oaks.

Tryst's victory over Friday's course and distance (Wolverhampton, 1m½f) doesn't look too shabby either. The runner-up, Arrietty for Joseph O'Brien, boasts a rating in the mid-70s and while it may be fanciful, she retains an entry in the Irish Oaks.

She was readily put away by the selection, who's tried in a handicap for the first time off an unchanged mark of 83. I expect her to take all the beating under Luke 'The Sniper' Morris.

Charlie Fellowes' Maeva is a classy rival, but the four-year-old is asked to concede 24lbs on return from a 159-day layoff. That's a big ask.

Orangesandlemons is another lacking a run and she too has to give weight to the three younger horses in the field. That's in spite of being the lowest-rated in the field. She's got a lot on her plate.

Just A Girl looks firmly in the grasp of the handicapper and, as the betting also suggests, she'd be the most surprising winner in my book.

The one that can give us the most to think about is Politely for Martyn Meade. She looked hopeless in a couple of starts last season, before sluicing up by five lengths at Lingfield last month.

It was an emphatic victory, but I'm sceptical about the form. Is she worthy of an opening mark of 80? I'm not sure.

I suspect she'll have to be a good bit ahead of it anyway to beat Tryst, who rates a confident selection.

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