Daryl Carter's Tips: Have a pop at Champagne on Saturday at Haydock

• Playful Saint lined up for Skelton Haydock smash-and-grab job

• Champagne Mystery is the best bet on Saturday

• Metier is wildly overpriced at Musselburgh

• Rachael Blackmore Serial Winners Fund at £205K - Read more here

14:05 Haydock - Back Playful Saint @ 4/15.00 1pt

Dan Skelton has undoubtedly had some pot lined up for Playful Saint - 4/15.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - and one suspects it wasn't the 5k handicap qualifier for this at Stratford on his seasonal return 19 days ago.

The nine-year-old will relish today's soft ground conditions, and he is entitled to improve for his first outing after a year off the track. His handicap rating of 134 is certainly not beyond him on the balance of his short career to date, and he was only asked for minimal effort 19 days ago when qualifying for this contest.

There are lots to like about his chances under Harry Skelton, so with optimum conditions, he gets the vote to land this series final at 11/43.75 or bigger.

15:00 Musselburgh - Back Glorious Angel @ 8/19.00 0.5pt e/w

Glorious Angel - 8/19.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - ran an excellent race just seven days ago at Doncaster in more profound company than this, and this progressive filly will relish the move back to five furlongs on that evidence.

She showed plenty of early speed when she returned to the turf, and her five-furlong record reads very positively in the context of this race. She has form with Vintage Clarets from last term, when she beat him at Doncaster, and she should have beaten him before that at Catterick also.

She looks handicapped to have a big say today, particularly with Brandon Wilkie's claim. She also has a fitness advantage, and her only visit to this venue was a narrow defeat over seven furlongs last term.

She will relish today's conditions with form figures in handicaps on soft or worse reading 22 over this distance, resulting in career-best RPR ratings of 97. A repeat of those efforts will surely see her go close, and they came with a turnaround of seven days a piece, just like today.

She appeals at 5/16.00 or bigger.

15:15 Haydock - Back Champagne Mystery @ BSP 2.5pt

Tom Geroge's Champagne Mystery arrives here on the up since returning from France. Now, in a Veterans Handicap, he can deservingly get his head back in front.

The ten-year-old ran a very eye-catching race at Cheltenham in January and shaped like he needed the outing, but in truth, that was a very deep race and a far cry away from what he faces today. He backed that effort up with a brilliant third at Kempton to an on-song Golden Son, getting outpaced on that tight track before running on at the finish and clocking some strong closing sectionals. The runner-up there, Heltenham, has done us a couple of good turns, and that form is pretty strong.

Both runs have seen race-by-race improvement, so it's baffling that the handicapper dropped him three pounds when his RPR ratings rose by 12. Still, the handicapper's mistake can benefit us as he moves to a more conventional track under conditions that should suit him perfectly.

His only run at this Haydock venue came in a Novice Chase a long while ago, when he finished second to Dashel Drasher. His overall British profile is strong, with career form figures when completing reading 3511221222.

Today is Champagne Mystery's best chance of returning to the winner's enclosure. He faces mainly exposed older rivals at the end of a long, hard season while he comes here fresher than most.

Back him at 10/34.33 or bigger, but it wouldn't surprise me if you could get 9/25.50 on the day, so I advise backing at BSP for the best price.

15:35 Musselburgh - Back Metier @ 11/112.00 1.5pt e/w

Harry Fry's Metier - 11/112.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - makes plenty of appeal in a bid to go one better than in this race last year, and having had the identical prep, he looks sure to run well at a big price.

The eight-year-old has built up a highly progressive profile on the flat turf. His form figures in Britain now read 121 amongst his hurdle outings, including an excellent Chester Cup victory last term off four pounds lower and a November handicap victory.

He has optimal conditions with the ground testing and a race fitness edge over many in this field, having had a spin at Sandown in the Imperial Cup.

His performance there looks to be the reason he is as big as he is in the market, but I remind you, he pulled up in the race last term before finding only a subsequent Group 3 placed horse half a length too good in this -finishing with a flurry.

He ticks all the boxes for a big run and is still unexposed in this sphere. With easily the most potent form in the race, he must be backed with the Betfair Sportsbook paying four places--he is the E/W bet of the entire day.

Now Read: Daryl Carter's Tips: 9/4 Thriving Haggas Filly is a Good Friday bet

Listen to the latest episode of Racing... Only Bettor now...