Andy Holding's Sunday Racing Tips

A typically trappy end-of-season handicap, but both ROCCIA BELLA (best price 7-1) and SEE OF ROME (best price 10-1) arrive here in decent shape and are worth playing against the field. 

The former has had the lighter campaign of the pair and even though she got beat on her latest outing at Gowran, it was arguably her best career performance. In a hot fillies’ handicap where the pace was strong, the daughter of Fastnet Rock only just got run out of the argument by the fast-finishing Bona Fide from the Dermot Weld yard, but with the progressive and dual-winner Best Not Argue back in third, the form has a solid appearance.

Winner of a 17-strong handicap on bottomless ground over the same C&D the time before, Michael O’Callaghan’s filly clearly doesn’t find plenty of give underfoot, and providing she’s just as effective going left-handed, everything looks set fair for a positive display.

The latter has taken a while to find his feet in his new surroundings, but back on his favoured soft ground he ran out an impressive winner over today’s C&D and a repeat of that effort should see Damian English’s gelding take high rank.

Formerly with Richard Hughes when trained in the UK, the son of Pour Moi had dropped to the sort of mark which allowed him to bounce back to form, and although he faces a stiffer test back at the scene of that facile success, the four-year-old has the back-class and conditions to offset that negative.

LOOKSNOWTLIKEBRIAN (best price 3-1) overcame several errors to land a competitive handicap over today’s course on his seasonal reappearance and this progressive young chaser is taken to continue his excellent strike-rate over fences (3-5).

Outpaced and looking slightly in trouble as the field headed for home, Tim Vaughan’s gelding picked up the bridle nicely as the main players headed towards the last, and despite hitting the final obstacle half way up, he still managed to rally to the cause and get the better of the useful Sky Pirate and one of today’s rivals, Cooking Fat.

Clearly a horse with quite a bit of quality – not to mention plenty of stamina – today’s step up in trip looks a wise move based on the latest evidence, and providing he can iron out one or two of these niggly mistakes that creep into his game from time-to-time, the son of Brian Boru should be competitive again this afternoon.

This looks a decent opportunity for Hazel Bay to get off the mark following her promising effort in a listed race at Navan on debut, but away from the obvious winner, the place prize money looks up for grabs and having run quite well against stiff opposition here last time SILVRETTA SCHWARZ (best price 15-2), may be good enough to feature prominently in the battle without the favourite.

Despite showing promise in her first two starts, the daughter of Silver Frost had no rights being pitched into pattern company 14 days ago, and even though it turned out as expected, to be fair, she did run on well in the latter stages to finish a respectable eighth of the 12-strong field.

Even getting beat 16 lengths in that strongly-run affair, she still comes out well on the numbers in the context of today’s race and providing she manages to improve just a little bit further, Michael Grassick’s filly has the potential to at least make the frame.

SMITHSCORNER (best price 13-2) ran out quite an impressive winner over today’s course last time out and although he tackles slightly softer conditions back at the same venue 14 days on, Michael Kennedy’s gelding is fancied to put up another bold show.

Having his first outing for new connections, the son of Kadeed impressive by the way he travelled throughout the contest and once shaken up after jumping three out, he quickly assumed command to ultimately score with a bit in hand.

Clearly this flat, right-handed track suits the seven-year-old as he had run well on his two previous visits to the Mallow venue and with a cruising speed that is always likely to carry him into the heart of the fight, it’s just a case of whether he can quicken as well in today’s ground that he did the last day.