Andy Holding's Tuesday Racing Tips

Slow starts are never a good thing in any horse race, but even more so in five-furlongs sprints and that’s exactly what happened to SOIE D’LEAU (best price 15-2) at Haydock last time out. Strongly fancied in the market following a deserved success over today’s C&D five days earlier, unfortunately Kristin Stubbs’ inmate fly-jumped coming out of the gates and lost valuable momentum and ground. Although the five-year-old managed to quickly make up the lost leeway, the dye was cast and he had to settle for a respectable fifth behind the in-form Boundsy. Versatile regards ground conditions and tactics, the son of Monsieur Bond appears to have stronger credentials than the market suggests.

AUDACIOUS PLAN (NAP) (best price 13-8) may have disappointed a few when a beaten short-price favourite last time out, but as the speed figure by the winner that day revealed, Dr Newland’s inmate was just plain unlucky to bump into a horse who maintained a relentless gallop throughout. Not only was the overall pace strong from the start, the final circuit was run in a time 2.3 seconds quicker than the novice chase won by 135-rated Aqua Dude over half a mile shorter, so based on those findings, the front two – who also pulled miles clear of the rest – were running at a level way beyond their current ratings. Moreover, the son of Old Vic now gets a chance to race of a mark 6lb lower on his return to hurdles (has been as high as 131 in the past), and as there doesn’t appear to be anything else remotely as well treated in opposition, it would come as a massive body blow if he fails to capitalise on this seeming penalty kick.

KATABATIKA (best price Evens) posted the sort of numbers that a much higher rated horse would have been proud of here last week and this race looks at her mercy providing she runs somewhere near that same level tonight. Going into that contest off the back of several useful and promising efforts on turf, Hughie Morrison’s inmate was a totally different proposition altogether on only her third start on the all-weather and the way she left her rivals for dead in the closing stages off the back of solid overall fractions suggests there’s plenty of mileage left in her off her current handicap status.