Cards have fallen nicely for Brando

Although it’s always tricky to work things out after rain at Haydock, for the simple reason that the track holds plenty of water, I find the meeting on Saturday preferable to Ascot from a punting point of view.

BRANDO will not mind conditions in the Group 1 Sprint Cup and has had the right sort of break since his exploits at Deauville. He was ‘wrong’ in the spring, when Kevin Ryan’s stable endured a bout of sickness but is in good heart now and may relish the task here. Tasleet and The Tin Man head the list of dangers, although Clive Cox is not too worried about the ground for July Cup winner Harry Angel, closely matched with Godolphin’s Blue Point on earlier form.

Speaking of Godolphin, the talented BENBATL almost looks a horse without a trip after fair runs at the very highest level over a mile and a half. Successful at ten furlongs, he may find the 32Red Mile a suitable opportunity and give Saeed Bin Suroor a welcome winner in a season dominated by his colleague Charlie Appleby.

I don’t really know what to do with Roger Charlton’s PROJECTION, who I feel sure is capable of winning a top sprint handicap like the Portland or the Ayr Gold Cup. He has winning form on good to soft but wants it faster than that so the 5.05 at Ascot is far from ideal, especially under a big weight. A very small win bet may be best: I’d still fancy him for Ayr if he just missed the numbers here and it dried right out.