We're starting early and over jumps, with Haydock's opener (13:50) providing our first bet. It's a competitive race, so large stakes aren't advised, though it seems to us as though Big Easy has a better chance than his odds would imply. He was just starting to improve last spring, finishing sixth in the Coral Cup and winning another competitive race at Cheltenham before missing the best part of a year. He returned with a solid effort over this sort of trip at the Grand National meeting, shaping as though all of his old ability is intact. The Hobbs yard have a good record in this race, so there's a chance that Big Easy has been aimed at this target specifically. With his mark just 1 lb higher than for his Cheltenham success, he's bound to go close if ready now.
Ascot's feature, the Victoria Cup, looks just too hard, though the preceding fillies' handicap (15:15) appears to be at the mercy of Ribbons. She progressed all the way when winning her first four starts and that improvement has slowed- but, crucially, hasn't stopped- on her two forays into listed races since. The more recent of those, at Kempton last month, proved especially promising; Ribbons really didn't enjoy the run of the race, never nearer than a length and a quarter behind winner Zurigha who she might have beaten on another day. Believe that and a BHA mark of 95, which is what Ribbons runs off here, ought to be a cinch.
We return to Haydock for their feature race, the Swinton Hurdle (15:30). The demands of a big-field handicap really should suit the Paul Nicholls-trained Vibrato Voltat. That might appear an odd thing to say on the face of it as his only defeat of late has been in the Imperial Cup, though that run actually represented a better effort on form than his novice wins either side. Vibrato Voltat arguably travelled best that day too, just failing to live with the similarly unexposed first two on testing ground. With the emphasis likely to be even more on speed in the Swinton, Vibrato Voltat ought to go close from a mark just 1 lb higher than at Sandown.
Timeform UK SmartPlays
Back Big Easy in the 13:50 Haydock
Back Ribbons in the 15:15 Ascot
Back Vibrato Voltat in the 15:30 Haydock
