Haydock

12.55pm

Farne

She was a very good bumper horse a couple of seasons ago, when she had Listed-placed form in the soft, but she showed little in two hurdling starts last term. But she was back to her old self when winning a maiden hurdle for me in heavy ground at Lingfield on her reappearance, on her first run for Noel. Obviously, this is a much stronger race but we know her bumper class and we know she handles very deep ground, so I think a big run is on the cards.

3.15pm

Goodbye Dancer

He is clearly not in the same form as he was either side of last Christmas, when winning at Cheltenham and unlucky not to follow up on New Year’s Day when falling at the last, but he showed a bit more last week. He didn’t jump as well as he could have done there but it was a better effort all the same, and he has been dropped a bit more in the weights. If he returns to anywhere like he form of his Cheltenham performances last season, then he has an obvious chance, but he clearly needs to show us more than of late.