TODAY'S POINTERS.

Tornado Bob 1.55 Haydock It probably comes as a surprise to many that Donald McCain has run only five horses in novice chases (including handicaps) at relatively local track Haydock since the beginning of 2008. But their finishing positions of 11221 suggest the trainer knows what is required in such contests and that augurs well for the chances of chase debutant Tornado Bob.

The six-year-old was pulled up after a mistake in the Neptune Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham, but he was progressive before that (highest rated of today's field over hurdles) and McCain already has his sights on a return to the festival for next year's RSA Chase. That's getting ahead of ourselves, but you get the impression there'll be plenty of long faces at Bankhouse stables if this one fails to do the business. Whats For Pudding 4.15 Wolverhampton Declan Carroll's filly hasn't looked a natural on Polytrack on three recent starts at Dunstall Park but she had a wide draw on each occasion and is interesting from a more favourable berth.

The daughter of Kheleyf struggled to find a decent early position after starting from stalls 10, 11 and 12 in those contests, but she should find that task considerably easier having bagged the inside rail here.

Admittedly, this drop back to 6f might not be ideal for a horse whose last two wins came over a furlong further but she has won over the trip and is potentially well treated off a 3lb lower mark than when scoring at Musselburgh in August.

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Title Annotation:	Sports
Publication:	The Racing Post (London, England)
Date:	Nov 18, 2011
Words:	257
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