Andy Holding's Tuesday Racing Tips

AIR DE ROCK (NAP) (best price 11-8) has yet to register a win in 12 starts, but that unwanted stat will surely end sooner rather than later on the evidence of his recent efforts and today could well be the day under ideal conditions.

Encouraging on his chase debut at Chepstow back in November, Venetia Williams’ gelding looked to eliciting that promise on his next start at Ffos Las until disaster struck when going well at the second last. Well-backed to make amends back at the former venue last time out, the son of High Rock had the misfortune to bump into the strongly-fancied Doc Carver firing on all cylinders, but with the pair well clear of the rest and the time figure well above average for the grade, it could hardly be described as a backward step.

In keeping with most of the yard’s inmates, the seven-year-old appears to really enjoy soft ground and with an attacking ride often rewarded around today’s testing track, he has the ideal opportunity to finally get the monkey off his back.

ÉCLAIR DE BEAUFEU (best price 5-2) deservedly got his due rewards for several solid placed effort over hurdles with a game victory at Limerick last time out and with the time figure suggesting it was any but a regulation success, Gordon Elliot’s five-year-old is strongly fancied to follow up. Possibly finding the quicker ground counting against him at Navan and Thurles previously, the son of Monitor Closely proved a totally different proposition with plenty of ease underfoot 19 days ago and the likeable feature of that performance at the Greenmount Park venue was the way he fought back once headed after the last. Moreover, the numbers he posted that day pointed towards it being a very strong race of its kind and even though faces several improving types who are difficult to get a proper handle on, this former point winner is expected to hold his own.