Andy Holding's Tuesday Racing Tips

A tricky-to-solve handicap hurdle, but MIDNIGHT MIDGE (best price 5-1) has done more than enough on his last two starts to suggest he’s holding his form together nicely and is worth a small interest to see whether he can get back on the winning trail. 

Making most of the running to score tidily at Wincanton three starts ago, Ron Hodge’s inmate tried to repeat the dose on his next outing over the same C&D but he got embroiled in a bitter battle for supremacy in the early stages and, as a result, he had nothing more to offer in the final half a mile. Given 59 days off the track, the son of Midnight Legend had the misfortune to bump into the progressive and well handicapped Smarty Wild at Exeter last time out, but in beating the rest fair and square, he probably ran somewhere close to his best and a repeat of that level of form should see him on the premises again this afternoon. 

Even in winning, COOPERS SQUARE (NAP) (best price 3-1) has shown scant regard for fences and he looks an intriguing contender on his return to hurdles off what appears a lenient mark. 

Blinkered for the first time, the son of Mahler made a mockery of his lowly handicap mark when bolting up over today’s course last month and he duly followed up in a much better contest at Uttoxoter nine days later. The feature of that performance, however, was his desperate round of jumping and that poor technique finally caught up with him as he got no further than the second when returning to today’s track six days ago.

Clearly fed up with the way the eight-year-old is operating over the larger obstacles, connections are probably wise in pursuing a different discipline for the time being in order to try and snap him out of his bad habits and that switch could well pay dividends based on the fact he’s well suited by a flat, right-handed course, good ground and a test of stamina over three miles plus. 

LOUGH SALT (best price 11-4) is clearly not one to be having your crown jewels on, but at the same time, he does like it at today’s track and he’s worth a small interest at the morning prices to put behind him an unlucky effort here last time out.

Although yet to win in six starts over fences, Richard Guest’s gelding has come close to breaking that hoodoo twice and his short-head defeat here 28 days was highlighted by his in-running low of 1.01. There’s many, of course, will believe that the son of Brian Boru chucked away another winning opportunity but the real reason why he failed was due to the fact he lost valuable ground thanks largely to some sloppy jumps on the way around – mainly at the ditch going down the back twice.

Hopefully today the eight-year-old can cut out the mistakes that cost him dear and if so, he has a decent chance of winning a race of this nature.