Andy Holding's Sunday Racing Tips and Preview

LEX TALIONIS (best price 9-4) did precious little wrong when just touched off by the well-fancied Oscar’s Den here the last day and there’s no obvious reason why Noel Meade’s charge won’t give another solid account under similar conditions. Going into that contest at the Co Kildare venue off the back of a game win at Punchestown, the son of Thewayyouare was strongly fancied to supplement those gains but, having travelled and jumped well throughout, he just had to bow down to the superior turn of foot shown by the winner on the climb to the line. He did, however, keep on strongly enough in his own right to pull nicely clear of the rest and up against what appears to be a similar set of opponents, class-wise, the four-year-old can still prove he remains on the right side of the handicapper.

Not only has Gordon Elliot trained the winner of this valuable staying prize for the last three years, the Co Meath handler also had a staggering six winners on this corresponding card twelve months ago, so it clearly makes sense to concentrate on his battalion of runners in this season’s renewal. Of the sextet, the main one of interest who fits the profile of so many of these big handicap winners nowadays is undoubtedly GENERAL PRINCIPLE (NAP) (best price 7-1) and with his jockey, Jack Kennedy, also full of confidence and rising on a crest of a wave, the duo make an irresistible combination. The son of Gold Well had a fine first season over fences, his highlight coming when taking a Grade 3 affair at Limerick in March and although he could never really land a decisive blow behind Our Duke in the Irish Grand National on his final start, he still claimed many top-class victims with an excellent and honourable fifth-place finish. In-keeping with how many Irish trainers prepare one for a big pot, the eight-year-old had a lovely spin to blow away the cobwebs over hurdles the other day and with effort – a decent one at that – likely to have brought him on both mentally and physically, it would come as something of a surprise if he wasn’t heavily involved in the finish with a clear round. Having captured a similar prize with another ex-Sandra Hughes inmate in the shape of Total Recall, Acapella Bourgeois looks the obvious threat on his first start for Willie Mullins despite the master trainer bleating about how much weight his charge has to carry.

GLENLOE proved conclusively that stamina is very much his number one asset when scoring in determined fashion over today’s C&D last season and following a promising effort on his return to action after a layoff on his seasonal reappearance, Gordon Elliot’s inmate should be at fever-pitch to keep his 100% track record intact. Although no match for the impressive winner that day, Oscar Knight, the Kayf Tara gelding did finish his race off with quite a bit of running in the tank and given that the trip that day was a trifle short of his best, the extra yardage he has to encounter here this afternoon, should play right into his strengths.