CUBANISTA (nap) is fancied to follow up a wide-margin win at Yarmouth last time out by beating seven rivals for the Happy 30 th Birthday Sam Handicap (4.22) at Leicester on Sunday.
With cheekpieces added for the first time, the Pam Sly-trained son of Havana Gold put up a personal best performance with a five-and-a-half-length supremacy in Horatio Nelson country.
Relatively unexposed, he still looks a dangerous proposition despite a 9lb rise in the weights.
In the Sky Bet Sunday Series Staying Handicap at Haydock Park (6.45), take Irish raider RUN FOR OSCAR (nb) to supply an award-winning performance and steal the show.
Rated as high as 147 over timber, his current Flat mark of 82 looks decidedly lenient, even more so when you consider that he was a huge eye-catcher last time out the Curragh.
On that occasion, Seamie Heffernan got caught in traffic two furlongs out which stopped his momentum.
But once out in the clear, the partnership fairly rattled home to get to finish third behind the Willie Mullins’ duo of Maze Runner and Dark Voyager.
Granted a clear run, I have no doubt that the selection would have won and off a one pound higher mark here and with Ben Curtis taking over up top, he is the one to beat.
Sunday tips
HAYDOCK PARK
3.45 MODULAR MAGIC
4.15 YORKSHIRE
4.45 MISTER BLUEBIRD
5.15 LUMINOUS LIGHT
5.45 NAP HAND
6.15 DON’T TELL CLAIRE
6.45 RUN FOR OSCAR (NB)
WINDSOR
2.10 ANDALEEP
2.40 SOFIA CAT
3.10 ALASKAN JEWEL
3.40 RHUBARB
4.10 RELENTLESS VOYAGER
4.40 GREY FOX
LEICESTER
1.50 MAN MADE OF SMOKE
2.20 CIRCLE OF FIRE
2.50 NURSECLAIRE
3.20 IDEAL GUEST
3.52 SARSONS RISK
4.22 CUBANISTA (NAP)
4.52 UBAHHA
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