Donald McCain hopes Cloudy Lane's love of Haydock will stand him in good stead for the Peter Marsh Chase on Saturday.

The nine-year-old has won four times at the Merseyside venue and comes into this competitive handicap on the back of a solid third in the Rowland Meyrick at Wetherby.

McCain, however, admits the handicapper is making life tough for him as he is still 3lb higher than his last winning mark.

"He's in great nick at the moment and, all being well, he will take his chance at Haydock on Saturday," said the Cheshire handler.

"We were happy enough with him at Wetherby last time as the ground was quite tacky down the back and he didn't really enjoy it.

"He stayed on nicely up the straight and we came out of the race thinking that's as good as he is.

"But he has come out of it really well and he has won a bundle of races at Haydock before.

"He obviously loves the place and the owner (Trevor Hemmings) also loves Haydock so it seemed the obvious place to go.

"It's going to be very soft ground but hopefully it will be loose enough to get through and he will run his race.

"When he ran at Haydock last year I was worried about the ground and he went and won.

"He's going to have plenty of weight, but he's got it for a reason and I'm sure he will run well."

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