North can Bridge the gap at Market

WITH a run under his belt and rain around in recent days, Bridge North can win the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle at Market Rasen.

Trained by Henry Daly, who had the misfortune a few weeks ago of having to rule stable star Hillcrest out of the season, Bridge North runs in the same famous yellow, green and white colours of the Hemmings family.

A dual winner, both of those successes came on soft ground - and like many from Daly’s yard he is going to be a staying chaser down the line.

Surprisingly for a trainer who likes to be patient with his horses, Daly ran Bridge North in Grade One company at the Grand National meeting when he finished a creditable fifth of 14 behind Gelino Bello in the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at 80-1.

He made a perfectly respectable comeback at Aintree last month over an inadequate two and a half miles and this step up to nearly three will surely suit him. A handicap mark of 126 looks very lenient.

Lunar Contact looks a likely type for Alan King in the Pertemps Network “National Hunt” Maiden Hurdle.

He races in the Million In Mind partnership silks that have been so successful down the years and was bought for 60,000 guineas having won an Irish point-to-point.

That is a pretty reasonable price these days, especially for one hailing from the Colin Bowe academy, which is one of the best schools around.

Rose Dobbin’s Slanelough looked badly in need of the run on his seasonal return when he blew up running to the last.

He was a winner at Newcastle in March, though, and returns to Gosforth Park for the Vickers Handicap Chase off 2lb lower having had just two runs in the interim.

Slanelough is usually a consistent type and all ground appears to come alike to him.

Cap Du Mathan is given another chance in the Colin Lewis Memorial Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase for the all-conquering Paul Nicholls at Wincanton.

Since winning at Taunton in January he has been set a couple of quite tough asks, at Ascot and first time over fences at Chepstow.

This represents a bit of a drop in class, he has been given a little bit of respite by the handicapper and with the form of the yard he will take all the beating.

Majestic Pride is unlikely to be one of Charlie Appleby’s stars but looks the one for the British EBF Future Stayers’ Novice Stakes at Chelmsford.

The Shamardal colt is a halfbrother to Champion Stakes winner Farhh, with several other Pattern-race performers in the pedigree.

Appleby did take him to Newmarket for his debut, suggesting he felt Majestic Pride was showing enough to put up a good account of himself, and that he did.

However, he was beaten a little less than two lengths by Paul and Oliver Cole’s Physique, who had the benefit of a previous run and it showed in the closing stages.

Given a few weeks to get over that run, Majestic Pride is taken to go one better at the second time of asking.