Andy Holding's Sunday Racing Tips

Malaya arrives here with a pretty tall reputation having already run to a decent standard over in her native France, but she will be have to be very smart to cope with GUMBALL (NAP) (best price 10/11) who’s already clocked a speed figure to suggest he’s a juvenile of some repute. Well backed to make a winning debut in a fairly modest event at Stratford, Philip Hobbs’ inmate impressed on so many levels that day, but it was his jumping that was the main feature of a truly stunning performance. Incredibly slick from one side of a hurdle to another, the son of No Risk At All bounded along at a tremendous pace throughout and even though he was by no means fully extended in the latter stages, he still managed to post a hugely impressive set of figures. Likely to be ridden in a similar forceful fashion here this afternoon, he should have many of these in trouble before they turn for home. 

Although still a maiden over hurdles, TOMMY RAPPER (best price 7-2) has proved on several occasions that he shouldn’t be out of place against this sort of opposition and he’s fancied to go close on his first outing of the season. Dan Skelton’s inmate first sprung to prominence when he made subsequent Neptune hero Willoughby Court pull out all the stops at Warwick last December and following another promising effort in the Sidney Banks Memorial at Huntingdon, connections decided to pitch him into the Lion’s Den at the Cheltenham Festival. Although he failed to cut much ice in the Albert Bartlett, the six-year-old was by no means disgraced, and he remains one of the most promising young horses in a yard brimming with talent for this jumps season ahead.

GRANNY BIDDY (best price 4-1) wasn’t given the cleverest of rides when a well-backed favourite at Ballinrobe last time out and she’s fancied to make amends in this similar contest here today. On a day when there was a massive bias to those racing away from the inside rail at the Co Mayo track, Donal McInernery made the cardinal sin of racing his mount around the swamp up the paintwork and in the end that crazy manoeuvre backfired on the crack Irish conditional. As far as he was concerned, the Limerick-born jockey thought he was saving ground going around the shortest part of the track, but in effect, he was actually making Michael Winters’ inmate work even harder than his main market rival, Eiri Na Casca, who had the luxury of racing on the fresher ground out wide. As it panned out, the Flemensfirth mare ran her face off to only get beaten a neck and on the evidence of that display, she still has the look of a well-handicapped horse.