Rhys Williams' Wednesday Racing Tips: Haija to bounce back

Return to quicker ground to suit

Newmarket 16:10: Haija 1pt e/w 17/2

John and Thady Gosden have two runners in the three-year-old fillies' maiden at Newmarket and one of those, Delta Bay, heads the market. She ran well on debut at Newbury in atrocious conditions and has an obvious chance if handling the much quicker ground today but her stablemate appeals far more at the prices.

Haija ran very well on debut over C&D last September when finishing second to the very short-priced favourite Monsoon Moon. Drawn furthest from the near rail, she was very awkwardly away and shifted sharply right. She soon recovered and raced in fourth, tracking Monsoon Moon, through the first half of the race. Pushed along with two furlongs to go, she ran on well under hands and heels without ever looking like challenging the winner and finished seven lengths clear of the third.

On her debut, Monsoon Moon had run well despite being green behind Love Is You, who is second favourite for the Nell Gwyn, so Haija was facing a very tough task trying to beat her.

She was dropped back to seven furlongs for her second start the following month on soft ground. She looked to be racing awkwardly and not going particularly well from an early stage and once pushed along with just under three furlongs to go, she weakened to finish nine lengths behind in fifth.

Her action suggests that she wants quick ground so that surface would likely have been completely unsuitable for her and the way she travelled early on suggests something might not quite have been right anyway.

I think the return to a quicker surface today will suit and she's drawn right against the far side rail which is helpful in a field of inexperienced horses.

If she can get back to the level of ability she showed on debut, or even improve from it given her greenness that day, I think she has a better chance than the market suggests and any 5/1 or bigger appeals.