Andy Holding's Thursday's Tips & Preview

GOOD TIME AHEAD (best price 15-8) may have had his running run halted last time out at Southwell, but there was certainly no disgrace in finishing runner-up to the rapidly-progressive filly Snowy Winter, and with the potential of today’s extra trip unlocking further improvement, Philip Kirby’s in-form four-year-old is fancied to get back on track. A previous back-to-back winner at the Nottinghamshire venue, the Iffraaj gelding was understandably well supported to complete the hat trick and although that feat failed to materialise, the speed figure of the race suggested he’d run to a career-high standard in defeat. Other than one poor run when way too keen, he’s also got a fairly decent record over today’s course and in a race where there doesn’t appear to be too many to get carried away with, his morning odds look more than fair. 

Despite being rather ungainly over some of his hurdles, FIN AND GAME (NAP) (best price 11-8) ran out a decisive winner of a well-run contest on his hurdling debut at Wetherby and he’s strongly fancied to follow up before going on to much better things. Although it’s way too early to be comparing him with some of the more illustrious names to be housed at his Cholmndeley base, Donald McCain’s inmate clearly has a big engine because lesser horses wouldn’t have survived the errors he made at the Yorkshire track. Moreover, the time figure he posted also suggested he ran to a fair level despite doing his own impression of a bulldozer and with the eighth horse home, The Road Home (beaten 34 lengths), going on to advertise the form at Musselburgh yesterday, it would be a shade disappointing if the six-year-old weren’t capable of dispatching today’s field. 

Connections of WASIM (best price 7-1) would have been thoroughly delighted the way their charge performed on his first try on the dirt surface out in the desert and with that initial outing sure to have brought him on nicely in condition, Ismail Mohammed’s colt is fancied to be in the shale-up of what looks a decent little contest. Having missed the break slightly 28 days ago, the son of Acclamation probably found it a bit of culture shock having to face the kickback for the first time but he seemed to cope well enough with the flying sand as he travelled noticeably well just in behind the speed. Caught out wide, however, as the field turned for home, the three-year-old couldn’t quite make up the lost ground on the pair that enjoyed the ground-saving trip around the favoured inside, but it was encouraging to see him come home with a degree of purpose in the final furlong. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been done too many favours being housed in stall 10, but he’s still worth a small risk to see if he can overcome that negative as he showed plenty of characteristics normally associated with a dirt horse on debut.