Andy Holding's Monday Racing Tips

Theo is on a tremendous roll at the moment and he looked better than ever when scoring easily at Newton Abbot last week, but he’s now up to a mark of 134 and this looks a much tougher test up against HAMMERSLEY LAKE (best price 7-2), who has been cutting his teeth in this sort of company on a regular basis and he gains the nod. Finding two miles too sharp when runner-up to Festive Affair previously (Abidjan won since), Charlie Longsdon’s charge posted a career-high performance last time out at Southwell by making the well-handicapped Art Of Payroll pull out all the stops under a welter burden. Whether Brian Hughes dropping his whip on the run-in made any difference is open to question, but either way it was still a fine effort by the Kapgrade gelding on only his second start for new connections. Moreover, the winning time suggests it was a very good race of its kind and the fact that the in-form pair Voix D’Eau and Definite Future were both pulled-up, unable to go the gallop, also backs up the findings on the clock.

PACKETTOTHERAFTERS (NAP) (best price 4-1) showed good battling qualities when scoring for the first time under rules at Bangor last time out and if he can prove just as effective on today’s easier surface (has won on soft in the point field), he certainly has enough potential to follow up while still in this sort of grade. A dual point-to-point winner for previous connections, Gary Hanmer’s inmate went into that competitive affair at the Welsh track with quite a weight of expectation behind him according to the betting (10-1 into 5-1) and he didn’t let his supporters down with a performance of some merit. Not only did he manage to score from out of the handicap, his overall and sectional times that day were by far and away the best numbers posted on the seven-race card (ran last circuit quicker than the two-mile chase) and with the third home that day, Deadly Move, going on to advertise the form with a victory at the same track next time out, the son of Craigsteel still looks well treated off his current mark of 90.