Rhys Williams' Tuesday Racing Tips: Sergeant to strike on handicap debut

First run on ground he wants over hurdles

Newton Abbot 19:00: Sergeant 1pt e/w 8/1

This could turn out to be a warm 0-100 handicap hurdle as there are a few potential blots with Sopat gradually coming back to form, Pokari having travelled strongly for a long way on his return to action last time and Cryogenics having made a positive trainer switch. However, there's one horse in here whose potential to be better than their rating dwarfs those mentioned.

Sergeant showed some level of ability on the flat in Germany for Christian von der Recke before joining Milton Harris to go jumping last Autumn.

On his first start for Harris at Leicester on soft ground, he shaped with promise. His jumping was ponderous early on but he was still travelling strongly early in the home straight. However, once shaken along between 3 and 2 out he didn't find as much as looked likely and was soon left behind by the leaders, eventually being beaten 35 lengths.

He went to Musselburgh for his next start and a hood went on for the first time but after racing prominently for the first half of the race, he dropped away quickly towards the end of the back straight and was pulled up.

He was also well beaten on his latest start over hurdles at Wincanton when held up and never put into the race and he was reported to have hung left-handed.

In between those runs at Musselburgh and Wincanton, Sergeant showed that he still had ability when finishing fifth in a jumpers bumper at Lingfield behind horses who have much higher ratings over hurdles than him. He was held up on that occasion and still had plenty of ground to make up early in the straight before finishing strongly to be beaten three lengths.

This good ground will be far more suitable for him than the ground he's raced on so far over hurdles and the switch to a left-handed track will suit to some extent, although with the hurdles track being on the outside there's still the opportunity for him to hang left with no rail to help at times.

It may be that Sergeant just isn't going to transfer the ability he showed on the flat to hurdling or build on the promise of his hurdling debut and there is the unknown over exactly what impact the first time cheekpieces will have.

However, the way he travelled for a long way at Leicester and the ability he showed at Lingfield and on the flat in Germany suggests that he can be competitive racing off a very lowly mark on his handicap debut and despite the strong field for the grade, any 6/1 or bigger appeals.