Andy Holding's Saturday Horse Racing Tips

WASHINGTON DC (best price 9-1) has always had a shed-load of ability and now that 5f seems to be his ideal trip, Aidan O’Brien’s inmate can really begin to flourish. Slightly unlucky on his first attempt over 5f in the King George Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, the son of Zoffany went on to fill the same position when finishing strongly from the back of the field in the Prix De L’Abbaye on his final start of the season, and if he’d been drawn slightly better, there’s little doubt he would have obliged. Once again a poor draw scuppered his chance of Group 1 glory when a creditable seventh in the Al Quoz Sprint out in the desert in March, but he bounced back to his very best form when capturing listed prize back on Irish soil under his optimum conditions on his seasonal return. Time figure-wise, that performance was right up there with the very best numbers he’s posted throughout his career and with today’s contest likely to be an absolute burn-up from when the gates crash back, the four-year-old can take advantage of being drawn right next to the trail-blazing Priceless who looks bound to lead based on her all-the-way success at Bath recently.

Amanda Perrett always has to be feared when sending runners to her local track and in the shape of LIGHTNING CHARLIE (best price 15-2) and THE WARRIOR (best price 16-1), the Pulborough handler looks to have strong hand in this 7f handicap. The former has had the misfortune to finish second on each of his last five starts but with a clearly run last time out at Windsor, there’s decent chance he would have snapped that unwanted sequence. All dressed up with nowhere to go approaching the two furlong pole, the son of Myboycharlie never saw any daylight until it was too late and in flashing home to finish a never-nearer second at the line, he left the distinct impression he would have obliged with a clear run. Nicely drawn here this afternoon, the five-year-old has every chance of gaining compensation from his favourable inside draw. The latter was a bitter disappointment at Loingfield last time out but as the race turned out to be a tactical farce, he was never likely to perform to his best. Given a well-run race over today’s trip, however, he’s a totally different proposition, and if he can run to level which saw him finish a close-up fourth behind Oh This Is Us at Bath two starts ago, the Exceed And Excel gelding can easily outrun his odds. 

VICTORY ANGEL (NAP) (best price 7-4) created a very favourable impression both visually and on the clock when making a winning return to action over today’s C&D at the Craven meeting and providing he’s in a similar mood 16 days on, he’s strongly fancied to continue his rise up the sprinting ranks. Always travelling well off the back of strong fractions, Roger Varian’s charge simply exploded going down the dip two furlongs out and coming out the other end when meeting the rising ground, he drew readily clear of a useful field of three-year-old handicappers. On closer inspection of his time figures that day, they reveal he clocked a better set of closing fractions than 116-rated Brando who took the Group 3 older-horse contest over the same C&D an hour later and with the pair being the only two horses to dip under 34.0 for the last three furlongs during the 3-day fixture, it’s quite clear that we are dealing with a three-year-old capable of much better than his current rating suggests. Providing he comes through today’s assignment with flying colours, connections will probably need to turn their attentions to bigger and better options further down the line and with there now being a much more varied programme for three-year-old sprinters nowadays, the Commonwealth Cup immediately springs to mind for the son of Acclamation.

TELLEMNUTTIN (best price 11-4) ran a good deal better than her finishing position suggested at Punchestown last time out and she’s strongly fancied to get back on track at a course where she’s unbeaten in three starts. Hampered at an early stage at the Co Kildare venue 10 days ago, the daughter of Shantou found herself with plenty to do at halfway in the final of the Martinstown Opportunity series, but to her eternal credit she at least worked herself into a challenging position rounding the home bend. Unfortunately, her run rather petered out in the closing stages, but it still goes down as a decent effort by William Codd’s mare and given how impressive she was the time before over today’s C&D, she has every chance of preserving her perfect track stats.