Paul Kealy's play of the day at Newmarket

Adjuvant

3.00 Newmarket

You can make a case for virtually everything in this 1m6f handicap (3.00), but last year's runner-up Adjuvant must have a serious chance of going one better, assuming he's in as good form as he usually is early in the season.

Michael Bell's five-year-old won his first two outings as a juvenile, ran a career best when beaten half a length on his three-year-old debut, and another one when beaten just a neck by HMS President on soft ground first time out in this race last year.

He improved on that on his next few starts, too, winning another course-and-distance race just under two weeks later, then finishing a close fifth in the Northumberland Plate and second to Sweet William at Goodwood.

After that he seemingly lost his form as he was well beaten in the Ebor at York and Old Borough Cup at Haydock, and then clearly did not take to hurdling. He's clearly still reasonably handicapped on that Goodwood form, given Sweet William is now rated 13lb higher, and the key may be to catch him fresh in the first half of the campaign.

Adjuvant's form figures across the two Newmarket tracks read 4121, so he has serious course credentials, too, and he looks a perfectly reasonable price at around the 8-1 mark or bigger.