Andy Holding's Saturday Racing Tips

Tim Easterby has won this race three times in the last six years, so one can naturally assume that MUKHAYYAM (best price 11-2) has been laid out for this valuable ladies prize for some time. Although yet to win in four starts so far this term, the five-year-old may have had something to say about those stats if he’d obtained a clearer passage at Ripon last time out and he has to be marked down as an unlucky loser. Placed on the two times he’s encountered fast ground on the Knavesmire, he also has the services of trainer’s daughter Emily who guided Snoano to victoryhere last year, so there’s every reason to be hopeful that the family can have another productive day at their local track.

GET KNOTTED (best price 9-1) wouldn’t have been suited by the small field he encountered last time out, but he still ran well enough over a C&D he has yet to finish out of the frame in three starts (213) and he’s fancied to keep those impressive stats intact back under his ideal conditions. Given a big field and a strong pace and Michael Dods’ charge is a fairly reliable conveyance to run his race and if he can match the sort of level that allowed him to finish fifth in the competitive mile handicap over today’s course at the Dante meeting (very fast speed figure), he should be right in the thick of the action.

Given how the race panned out at Goodwood, WAR CHIEF (best price 11-1) had very little chance of coping with the likes of Eynhallow and Secret Advisor last time out, but he still finished off his race well enough to leave the impression he can continue to pay his way in similar competitive middle-distance handicaps off his current mark. Reined back as the gates crashed back at the Sussex venue, Alan King’s inmate found himself in an unpromising position running down the hill, but to his eternal credit, he did keep finding for pressure in the latter stages to finish a never-nearer third. Although he shapes like he probably wants a little further, today’s stiffer uphill test might just provide him with a better platform for him to show his skills and he rates a reasonable each-way bet with hopefully the dead eight runners going to post.

Petiville sets the standard here with a rating of 122 and a decent effort in a fair handicap hurdle at Cartmel last time out, but at the same time, the price disparity between him and TALKOFGOLD (best price 3-1) looks way too big, so the latter simply has to be the value play at 10-3. A winner of a point-to-point in the spring, Martin Todhunter’s charge wasn’t that strongly fancied on rules debut according to the betting, but she belied that market frailty with a performance of some promise. Held up off the back of even fractions, the daughter of Gold Well impressed how she left her rivals trailing with a smart turn of foot coming up the hill and rounding the home bend and staying on strongly all the way to the line, she could be afforded to ease down in the closing stages. Likely to be ridden in a similar fashion here this afternoon, hopefully she can put her useful track knowledge to good use.

CARTOGRAPHER (best price 7-4) looked a proper little speed ball when scoring on her opening salvo this season at Yarmouth and she can come alive again at a track where there’s an emphasis on raw pace. Always moving sweetly at the seaside track, Martyn Meade’s inmate only had to be nudged out to assert in the closing stages and with her winning time suggesting she could well be a decent sprinter in the making (runner-up Pastime boosted form since), an opening handicap mark of 82 doesn’t appear too severe.

FIESOLE (NAP) (best price 4-1) arrives here in tremendous shape courtesy of several smart performances over hurdles recently and he’s strongly fancied to carry that form back to the Flat on his first outing in this sphere for 225 days. A previous winner for Luca Cumani back in the day, the son of Montjeu has really come alive since encountering genuine fast ground over hurdles and both of his two successes at Down Royal in the month of May were gained in the style of horse who has plenty more to offer during the summer period. A smooth traveller through his races, hopefully Eion Doyle’s inmate can get nicely switched off during the early stages as he does possess a nice turn of foot at the business end.