Andy Holding's Friday Racing Tips

Two bumper winners this week suggest the Ben Pauling yard is beginning to pick up the pace for the season and his CREEP DESBOIS (best price 10-1) looks a likely sort for the local handler despite not running for 192-days. The son of Great Pretender improved with each run last season, and it should be noted his victory at Doncaster in February was at the main expense of Snow Leopardess, who went on to boost the form with a win in the valuable mares’ only final at Newbury later in the season. Although the five-year-old failed to back up that effort when last seen at Kempton in April (may have not handled the track), he was by no means disgraced behind a couple of useful tools from the Nicky Henderson barn and starting his new discipline off a reasonable mark of 128, he should at least give a good account on his return to action.

KK LEXION (best price 18-1) turned out to be a disappointment on his final two outings of last season, but he probably got stuck in the mud of both occasions and he’s better judged by some of his better performances earlier in the campaign. A big eye-catcher in a competitive hurdle at the Paddy Power meeting here on his opening bow to last season, Tom George’s inmate delivered the goods in some style two runs later when bolting up in a well-run affair at Wincanton. Taking into account his amateur’s 7lb claim, the Flemensfirth gelding is only 3lb higher than when scoring at the West Country track and hailing from a stable that usually gets his runners to go well fresh, a big run looks on the cards.

CAPTAIN COLBY (best price 8-1) hasn’t managed to cut much ice so far this season, but he’s run better than the bare result has suggested on his last two starts and he’s also returning to a track where he has a fine record. Winner of the Portland Handicap last season, Ed Walker’s inmate was quietly fancied to go well in this year’s renewal but a tardy start put him on the back foot from the outset and he could never really land a meaningful blow. That said, he did finish his race off with some purpose and it least went some way to confirming his love affair with Town Moor. The fact that he was able to lead Custom Cut in the early stages at Leicester last time out suggested the son of Bernstein was going way too fast for his own good, so it was no great surprise to see him fade inside the final furlong over a trip that clearly stretched his stamina to the limit on heavy ground. Back under his optimum conditions, the perfect scenario would be if he just broke nicely to chase the leaders in behind the speed and if so, there’s a decent chance he can prove extremely competitive off what, all of a sudden, looks a very winnable mark.

MAN OF PLENTY (best price 7-1) turned in a career-high performance by quite some way at Chepstow last time out and another positive display looks in the offing at a track where he’s gone well in the past. Although he couldn’t quite match the improving Misterton’s staying power on the run-in at the Welsh track, Sophie Leech’s inmate did take the scalps of the likes of Oldgrangewood and Elgin to name but a few, and with the time figure of the race indicating it was a decent one of its kind, he has every chance of go close if repeating that effort or, the one that saw him chase home William Bonney on the New Course here last season.

A tricky one for punters as Joseph O’Brien saddles the first two in the betting, but despite jockey bookings suggesting Boragh Steps is the one to be with (Donnacha presumably would have had the choice), CASTROGIOVANNI (best price 11-4) is fancied in these quarters to gain the stable bragging rights. A fairly exposed maiden going into his latest assignment at Fairyhouse three days ago, the son of Approve couldn’t have won an easier and with his time figure working out to be the best furlong-per-furlong recoding on the eight-race card, a mandatory penalty shouldn’t be enough to prevent him repeating the dose if he’s in the same sort of mood.

The race won by Ply at Kempton recently was noted for its strong pace throughout and although ROMANOR (NAP) (best price 7-1) couldn’t match Roger Charlton’s improving three-year-old late on, he did more than enough to suggest there’s plenty of fun to be had with him over the winter should connections go down that particular route. Prior to that praiseworthy effort, the son of Holy Roman Emperor had gained a deserved success when given a typically cool ride by Jamie Spencer at Windsor and with the likelihood of more improvement to come on a surface where he’s far from exposed, odds of 15-2 appear fairly attracted for this lightly-raced three-year-old.