John of Gaunt Stakes: Racing tips

The pre-Derby meeting lull hits racing this weekend, but pulses can still be moved out of first gear with the John of Gaunt Stakes at Haydock this weekend.

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Nine horses line up for the chance to bag just over £28,000, and punters should find this race relatively easy to sort out, given that nine of the last ten winners have been victorious at 5/1 or under.

Form works here, and as another guide, it often pays to pick a 7f specialist. Running over 7f is a special skill, similar to the 400m in athletics. Many runners have the pace to keep up for six furlongs, while others have the stamina to go for a mile, but few have the athletic blend required to cruise at high speed for much of the race, fewer still to kick on in the final furlong.

The high-class Beckermet is one such example. The six year-old has been placed at a mile, and won at 6f, but never has he been successful at 7f. If you trawl through his form further, you will also see that he has never won at above Listed level, and although the boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred of late, this should be a step too far for Chris Caitlin's mount.

John Dunlop's Tell is another without a win over the required distance, and for the record, the smart sprinter Excusez Moi is one more who has a terrible history over such a trip. Clive Brittain's charge won the Great St Wilfrid at Ripon two seasons ago, but has raced 11 times over a distance at around seven furlongs and only won once, and even that was when he opened his winner's account in a maiden at Yarmouth in 2005.

Quite simply, it would be an incredible result were Excusez Moi to win, and one that would prompt punters to say a few more words in French, too.

Major Cadeaux is a league above these, and it would be a major surprise if Richard Hannon's colt didn't produce the goods here. Last season he beat the subsequent 2,000 Guineas-placed Dutch Art over 7f in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury, and Major Cadeaux was just three lengths off last season's outstanding three-year-old Cockney Rebel when sixth in the Newmarket Classic.

Major Cadeaux showed off his versatility with a fine win in the Bet365 Mile at Sandown last month, after advertising his ability to handle soft conditions with a fine second in a Group 3 at the Curragh on heavy on his seasonal bow.

The only thing that seems to stand in Major Cadeaux's way is old adversary Silver Touch. Mick Channon's filly outpointed Major Cadeaux in the Criterion Stakes at Newmarket last year, but seems to have gone off the rails since. She was hardly impressive when 10 lengths adrift at the Curragh earlier this month, but there were excuses due to the dead state of the ground, and if she is ready for this, she's a big price.

Verdict: 1pt Major Cadeaux

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