Bet of the day: Thursday’s Racing

Our NAP goes on the fibresand

Coral’s horse racing punters have six races at Southwell on Thursday to sort through and we lend a helping hand by picking out our best bet of the card, as well as a selection in every race. We tipped up a 9/1 winner yesterday, let’s build on that!

Going in with our NAP of the day nice and early, wasting no time with a strong interest in the second contest, the 2.20pm. A one-mile three-furlong handicap is the challenge ahead of this six-runner field and I will be surprised if Footlight doesn’t lead them home.

Footlight loves Southwell

The Richard Fahey trained four-year-old filly has already proven her liking for this track, grabbing the first of her two career wins at Southwell, taking the prize money over one-mile in March of last year, leading home Never Say by a comfortable margin, despite going off at a chunky SP.

She’s not done an awful lot to impress since, but did get her head in front again at Catterick and has been threatening a return to winning form of late, finishing as runner-up in each of her last two goes, both around Lingfield. The last of those came early in January, when beaten a length by Heads You Win.

She took the race by the scruff of the neck that day, before rallying to finish as an eye-catcher. The extra distance here should play to her advantage and, having a firm grip of what is expected on fibresand, she must be trusted to improve. Paul Hanagan sits in the saddle and that goes as another positive to our chances.

Shearian hat-trick hero