Nap of the Day: Meetmebythesea to make a splash at Wetherby

It was disappointing not to see Shade Of Winter finish out his race properly at Cheltenham on Friday after making a terrible mistake a few hurdles out. I'm convinced about his handicap mark, so expect to see him in this column again sometime soon.

I'm turning my attention away from the November Meeting for the Nap of the Day on Saturday, opting for a well-connected type at Wetherby.

I've got high hopes for Ben Pauling's MEETMEBYTHESEA over fences this season.

The five-year-old son of Watar was bought by the legendary JP McManus after finishing runner-up to Gordon Elliott's smart bumper horse He Can't Dance in a point-to-point in March last year, and he made a bit of a splash over hurdles last season.

Victory on debut over two miles at Ludlow in November was followed by a smart course-and-distance success over the 130-rated The Kemble Brewery - and then he made it 3-3 at Doncaster in the new year, getting the better of Alan King's Mythical Moon (123).

His big target was the EBF Final - a Grade 3 handicap hurdle at Sandown in March - and he ran a blinder to finish within a length of the winner Laurens Bay in third.

That performance can be marked up, quite significantly too, for it's since been reported he scoped badly after the race.

In a stable tour with Sporting Life, Pauling said: "Considering the scope he produced afterwards, you would have to say it was a very good effort as he only got beaten under three lengths (it was in fact 3/4L). I think he is a very good horse."

I'll be amazed if he doesn't better than his mark of 133 - which essentially becomes 128 on Saturday thanks to the excellent Callum Pritchard's five-pound claim - this season.

The question is how ready he is first time out, but having followed many of his Pauling's returning horses quite closely, on top of his strike rate of 27% in the last fortnight, I'm not worried.

He has every right to beat Push The Button, who holds the reopposing Ruby Island on these terms, in receipt of weight and the lightly-raced Pleasington and Starcrossed Lover have a bit to prove on their latest efforts.

If he's to develop into one for a spring handicap, perhaps the novices' chase at the Cheltenham Festival as his trainer alludes to in another stable tour, he should take a bit of stopping here.

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