Skelton chaser thrown in if coming back to best

The best racing undoubtedly takes place at Ascot this afternoon, but I doubt there’s a better handicapped horse than Corrin Wood in Haydock’s 32Red.com Tommy Whittle Handicap Chase (2.40).

Trained by Donald McCain until this season, he earned an official mark of 156 over fences following a sure-footed all-the-way success in a good Class 2 novice at Warwick in January 2014, but that proved to be his zenith and, apart from a third later that year in the Rowland Meyrick at Wetherby, the next two campaigns were disastrous.

Changes of stable do not always work, but Corrin Wood has looked a much happier horse for the switch to Dan Skelton and he has raced with real enthusiasm in finishing second and third in two hurdles starts at Cheltenham and Chepstow recently.