It’s been a little while since the ‘Nap of the Day’ was last in action, just over a week in fact, but we’re back ahead of Sunday’s racing, and we’re back following what was an excellent winner, with Fiercely Proud getting the job done at 12/1 last Saturday, giving the December figures both a timely and healthy boost.
| Doncaster - 14:47 |
Erne River |
11/1 |
Ahead of Sunday’s action, I’m interested in a race at Doncaster, the 14:47 to be specific. At very early odds of 11/1, Erne River is not a horse that I can ignore, and here’s why:
First things first, we’re talking about a runner that has dropped to a lenient-looking mark. He now sits 7 lbs below the mark from which he scored at this meeting a year ago, doing so over the larger obstacles.
No stranger to success at Doncaster
Doncaster has certainly been a happy hunting ground for this horse, who has won three of his previous six Doncaster races, placing in one of the other two.
Having not really fired in two chase runs since returning from an absence in November, connections have opted to send him back over hurdles, which may not appear to be an obvious positive, though I don’t think it’s particularly negative either, especially as a mark of 127 seems far from strict.
We know he likes Doncaster, while he was far from a poor hurdler before going over fences, winning twice over timber, including at this venue. He also finished a very close second over course and distance in this race back in 2022, doing so from 13 lbs higher in the weights, so I really wouldn’t discount him here.
To be honest, I’d say that the nine-year-old will be tackling his optimum racing conditions on Sunday. After all, when going left-handed on tracks with slight undulations (such as Doncaster), on ground no worse than soft, in Class 3 company or worse, he has a record of five wins and two places from seven runs. At 11/1, that’ll do for me.
Based on a £10 level-stakes example, the Nap of the Day (after 76 Naps) has a running P/L of +£115.00 (since switching to being published here (10/09/2024) rather than on the ‘Nap of the Day' page).
For those interested, here’s a monthly profit and loss breakdown (again based on a £10 level-stakes example):
September 2024 = +£34.00
October 2024 = +£6.00
November 2024 = +£15.00
