DOUBLE HANDFUL

John Shaw’s racing betting column in association with

ALL races are equal in the eyes of punters. It doesn’t matter if you back the winner of a big one at Epsom, Royal Ascot or Cheltenham, you still get paid out the same wedge as a winner anywhere else.

This brings me neatly to today’s highlight at Haydock, the Group 3 Betway John Of Gaunt Stakes over seven furlongs.

What the race lacks in glamour it more than makes up for in competitiveness.

Roger Varian’s Emmaus is the rightful favourite. He’s a Leicester track specialist, where he’s unbeaten in three — the only loss on his record coming at Deauville in 2016.

I was really impressed with the way he got up to beat Sir Dancealot — a winner since — in his penultimate race when looking well beaten in the final furlong.

The worry for the Varian camp is that the forecast is dry, meaning the ground will be quicker than anything Emmaus has ever raced on. His gutsy, grinding win over Sir Dancealot came on heavy ground.

I can see the money coming for Dutch Connection, who ticks all the boxes. He has scored at this level and higher, adores quick ground and ran a highly credible fourth in the Lockinge on his reappearance.

The only nagging doubt is that he’s drawn in stall eight.

Nine of the last 11 winners of this race have been drawn in either stall one, two or three.

This brings me to Charlie Appleby’s improving four-year-old D’BAI.

A win over the distance in Meydan and a very good second behind The Tin Man over six furlongs at Windsor just a few weeks ago suggests he will be very tough to beat.

This is his optimum trip and with a favourable draw in stall three I expect D’bai to do d’business.