Drop In Trip To Suit Hija At Exeter

Back To Love sent me back to the drawing board with a pathetic effort at Newcastle. He never travelled, and the writing was on the wall a long way from home. Our losing run has continued, but hopefully Hija Can get us back on track at Exeter tomorrow. This 5yo mare is trained by Devon based handler Gail Haywood, and she could run well at her local track.

Haywood's Hija Could Run Well At Exeter.

This daughter of Avonbridge is bred to be a sprinter more than a hurdler, but there is some stamina on the dam side of her pedigree. She proved she has an aptitude for jumping when running out a shock 80/1 winner in a maiden hurdle at Newton Abbott (17f gd/sft) on her first run for this yard back in April 2015. She has failed to get her head in front since, but she has shown definite signs of returning to form on her last couple of runs.

She came back from her Summer break at Newton Abbott (21.5f gd) and she ran a cracker to finish 3rd, beaten just over 9L off a mark of 89 under Alice Mills. The trip was never going to suit her, and she arguably ran a better race dropped back to 19f at Taunton last time out off 2lb lower. It again looked as though the trip slightly stretched her, and as the race hotted up she just couldn't go with the leaders. She still kept on for 4th, beaten 9L for the win but only 3.75L off 3rd.

Those two runs should have put her in tip-top shape, and she drops back to 17f on good to soft ground tomorrow, the same conditions as for her last win. James Banks comes in for the ride and he was on board for her comeback run at Newton Abbott. Hopefully they go a good clip early on, and with Jump and Jump in the field there is every chance they will. Hija should be staying on at the finish and, at odds of 19/1 with Bet365, she looks worth supporting each way off bottom weight.

STEVOS' SELECTION: 2.40 EXETER: HIJA E/W 19/1 B365