HALYARD can prove the pick of a rather humdrum day of action by landing the Mercers Law Handicap at Windsor.
The four-year-old does not boast a prolific wins-to-runs ratio but two victories in ten starts is not too bad and he looks a horse who could be on the upgrade.
Walter Swinburn’s charge failed to strike in two juvenile starts and he took a while to get going last term too, finally hitting the mark at the sixth attempt on the Kempton all-weather last September.
He was expected to go on from that again when returned to the same track later that month but he put up no sort of show and finished well in arrears.
Given a long break after that disappointment, Swinburn sent him to Bath for his comeback run last month and he relished the firm surface there in winning a relatively weak event.
However, Halyard can be expected to improve a little for the run and having been raised just 4lb for that victory, he could still be on a workable mark.
Cockney Rocker is an intriguing prospect in the EBF sportingbet.com Median Auction Maiden Stakes.
Richard Hughes partners this runner for Jane Chapple-Hyam rather than Richard Hannon’s contender Poetic Lord, despite Cockney Rocker finishing only third on his debut at York.
That was behind the highlyrated Brocklebank though, so connections have every right to anticipate a big run.
Maoi Chinn Tire is the choice in the Tony Bethell Memorial Handicap at Pontefract.
The four-year-old has been mixing it between Flat and hurdles of late, running with credit in both spheres.
Folkestone also race and the consistent Miss Firefly can gain just rewards for her admirable attitude in the Free Trial With theprivateline.com Claiming Stakes.
The six-year-old has not won since February last year but she is never too far away and her turn looked to be coming when she failed by just half a length at Chepstow last time.
That run came on soft ground and it could well be that the quicker surface will be in her favour.
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