Haydock best bets: Gemini Star set to shine, Running Cool on the each-way shortlist

15:35 Haydock:  Betfred Supports Jack Berry House Handicap  (5 furlongs)

If the bookmakers have got this right, then we should be in for two separate races between the tight-knit market leaders who are separated by just a couple of betting points, and the seven apparent outsiders, all of whom are available at double-digit prices at the time of writing.

Thunder Star is the tentative early favourite, and Jessica Macey’s four-year-old could well justify that tag if able to reproduce the form that saw him win three of his last five outings last season, only missing out in a couple of higher-class contests at York.

Planet Sport Bet Daily Special: Bet £20+ cash on any runner in the race and if Thunder Star wins, get a £5 Free Bet

He has not yet hit those heights in his two efforts this term, and that gives plenty of encouragement to his fellow market principals, with Match Play, Grace Angel and Paddy’s Day all arriving off the back of decent recent performances.

Just edging them in terms of winning potential, however, our nod goes to Gemini Star, who enjoyed a promising first full season in 2023, kicking off with a tidy win at Thirsk, and backed up by three close-up runner-up efforts, none of which saw her beaten by more than a length.

Suggested best bet: Gemini Star in the 15:35 at Haydock

Her two less auspicious finishes both came on unsuitably heavy ground, so she should relish Haydock’s better going, and she showed signs of rekindling last year’s form when fifth of eight over a longer six-furlong trip at Nottingham last month, finding less than three length behind the winner.

Her best runs have all been over the minimum trip, and the booking of Hollie Doyle, who has ridden two winners and four runners-up in her last 11 outings, looks to be both timely and significant for Gemini Star’s chances in first-time cheekpieces.

Should enough of the market leaders falter, there are plenty in the bottom half of the betting anxious to show they are not there just to make the numbers up, and with four places widely available, there could be some additional each-way value to be found.

Of those, Tim Easterby’s Running Cool might be worth a closer look as he drops significantly in class after three unsuccessful efforts in much stronger company over the last six weeks.

The four-year-old gelding won back-to-back outings over both five and six furlongs in Ireland last summer, and if David Allan, who landed a winner for the same trainer at Ripon on Wednesday, can catch a good break steer him clear of trouble, then they can certainly carry frame aspirations into the final furlong.

Each-way punt: Running Cool in the 15:35 at Haydock

READ MORE: Haydock racing tips: Best bets for Thursday June 6