Andy Holding's Monday Horse Racing Tips

PATANJALI (NAP) (best price 5-2) was extremely unlucky not to land a similar race at Lingfield last time out and this looks to be a good opportunity for her to make amends. Having only her second start on an all-weather surface, the daughter of Poet’s Voice was travelling best of all as the field came down the side of the side of the course from the four to the two, but just as she was screaming out for some room rounding the home turn, the door kept persistently shutting in her face. Although her pilot tried switch course in a desperate pursuit to find some daylight, his search was in vein and her mount ended up finishing an agonising third without ever coming off the bridle. Despite dropping a furlong here today, she certainly didn’t look short of speed given how much she had left in the tank at the Surrey venue 13 days ago and from a much more favourable draw this afternoon, the four-year-old should go very close to providing Eve Johnson Houghton with another winner.

CAIRNSHILL (best price 6-1) still remains a maiden after 13 starts, but there’s more than a fair chance that he will end that unwanted tag hailing from an in-form stable. Ridden aggressively at Downpatrick last week, Mark McNiff’s inmate certainly put up a bold fist of things from the front and although he couldn’t maintain the gallop all the way to the line, he still ended up posting a career-high best in finishing a creditable third behind two in-form rivals. Prior to that smart effort, the six-year-old grey had intimated his winning turn was only just around the corner when runner-up to well-backed Lake Shore Drive at Hexham and a repeat of either effort should see this fairly consistent type play another significant role.