Andy Holding's Saturday Racing Tips

SAN CARLOS (best price 7-1) doesn’t have the sexy profile of some of his rivals but what he does have in his favour is plenty of solid track form to call upon and that knowledge could end up being a huge advantage in the final count.

A dual course winner, the Havana Gold colt was stepped in in trip on his return visit last time out in a bid to see whether he stayed the mile and even though he looked threatening a furlong down, he patently didn’t get home. Back down to six furlongs for the first time since his debut, Shaun Keightley’s colt has the sort of cruising speed that should allow him to hold his position in the early stages before being produced for a late run inside the final furlong.

MIACOMET (best price 11-2) has yet to register a win in 10 starts, but she’s been threatening to overcome that unwanted maiden tag on her last couple of outings and she looks booked to go well in pursuit of that elusive victory over a track that should play into her strengths.

A strong finisher when runner-up to Little Clarinet at the Curragh two starts ago, the daughter of Dandy Man was well-fancied to go one place better at Fairyhouse last time out, but despite a Herculean effort to overcome a desperately wide draw, she once again had to settle for a minor role. Seemingly at her best when held up and allowed to come with a late run over a stiff six furlongs, Jack Davidson’s filly should get the perfect set up with plenty of pace signed on and with promising conditional Nathan Crosse in the saddle seen as a massive positive, the likeable three-year-old looks primed for another bold show.

FIRST ELEVEN (best price 3-1) arguably holds the best piece of middle-distance handicap form against his name and he’s strongly fancied to make his class count in a race lacking any great strength in depth. An unlucky third in last year’s King George VI Handicap at Royal Ascot, John Gosden’s colt gained his just rewards with a deserved success on his return visit to the Berkshire venue in September and although slightly disappointing on his final start back there a month later, soft ground was a plausible excuse for the defeat. Sent to York to tackle a viciously-competitive handicap on his seasonal, the son of Frankel came out of a titanic tussle with the well-fancied Fujaira Prince and with the speed figure revealing that he’s run somewhere near the level of a pattern-race performer, it had to be considered as a perfect stepping-stone to bigger and better things during the rest of the campaign. Form-wise, the race in question on the Knavesmire couldn’t have worked out any better with the likes of Caliburn, Red Galileo winning since and Fujaira Prince, Cogri and Proschema all hitting the frame in similarly competitive handicaps and the mere fact that connections have entered the three-year-old in the Group 1 King George at Ascot later this month is testimony to how highly regarded he is at his Newmarket base.

Vivionn is quite a nice filly and seems to be improving with each start, but whether she’s good enough to cope with the physical capabilities of SPECIALISE (NAP) (best price 6-4) is very much open to question and Roger Varian’s inmate is strongly fancied to continue her progression before going on to much better things,

Learning all the time in each of her three starts over a mile, the daughter of Mastercraftsman was stepped up in trip for the first time on handicap debut at Lingfield last time out and on the evidence of what we saw that day, she really came into her own once asked to extend in the closing stages, In what turned out to be a well-run affair, this scopey filly impressed with the manner of how she brushed aside two equally promising fillies in the shape of Hallahulu and Moll Davis and even though the assessor has done his level best to try and keeps tabs on her to prevent any further embarrassment, the three-year-old grey is fancied to have the last laugh on a surface that should really suit (rode quite slow here last night).

It goes without saying, Enable is the big marquee attraction for most punters and her price is a fair representation of her top-class form from last season. Victories in the Arc and Breeder’s Cup Turf rubber-stamped her as being one of the best middle-distance horses in the world and when she’s on her A-game, there’s not too many better. If there is one chink in her armour, however, it stems from the fact she’s yet to win over 1m2f in her 11-race career and that’s the only reason why she’s probably not a great value bet at her current price around the 11-10 mark.

Of those capable of causing a shock, maybe something with plenty of course form might step up to the plate and in the shape of REGAL REALITY (best price 7-1), Sir Michael Stoute’s colt has enough quality to make the frame at the very least. Looking in need of the run when third to the useful Beat The Bank on his seasonal reappearance back in April, the son of Intello looked far more fine-tuned on his return visit a month later. In what turned out to be a well-run affair, the four-year-old quickened up smartly in the closing stages to win going away and with the likes of Matterhorn and Danceteria going on to endorse the form many times over since, the time figure he posted grows in value by the day.

Although his usually pilot, Ryan Moore, has to do duty for Ballydoyle and jump on Magical, in-form Kerrin McEvoy is more than an able deputy, and hailing from a stable that has plundered this prize no less than six times, Regal Reality has more than a puncher’s chance of making it seven for the Newmarket maestro.

DESERT LAND (best price 7-2) has shaped better than the bare result suggests against some fairly stiff competition on his last two starts and now having his sights significantly lowered, David Simcock’s is fancied to take advantage and break his duck.

Promising in a maiden on his only start as a two-year-old, the son of Kodiac began this season in a warm novice event at Windsor and although he eventually faded out of the picture to finish seventh, he went well enough for a large majority of the journey to suggest he’ll do better in a slightly lower grade race. Running in a similar contest at Salisbury last time out, he had the misfortune to bump into subsequent listed winner Tapisserie for his pains, but as he was the only one to offer any sort of resistance from three furlongs out, the performance still deserves some credit. On what we’ve seen of him so far to date, today’s seven-furlong trip on decent ground should prove ideal and off an opening mark that probably underplays his qualities, might just have a touch more class than his seven opponents.

As expected, a typically competitive field for this sought-after prize and the two that make the most appeal at the morning odds are LAKEMILAN (best price 9-1) and STORMEY (best price 12-1).

The former probably hit the front too soon when worried out of the argument by Nearly Nama’d at Limerick last time out, but now back over hurdles and a more suitable trip, she should go well. Unlucky the time before at Killarney when almost brought down three out when going well, Terence O’Brien’s gelding is well served by these kind of events and having beaten the useful Ivanovich Gorbatov at the same venue almost a year ago in a similar race as the one she faces tonight, a repeat of that sort of effort is sure to put her right in the mix.

The latter is also a regular in these kind of races, and even though he can’t be described as a winning machine, he’s another who should be capable of a bold show nonetheless. Runner-up in this race last year, that wasn’t the first time the nine-year-old had shown a liking to this tight track and following an excellent effort over fences last time out, he arrives here in excellent heart.

DEBAWTRY (best price 10-3) ran a blinder against the track bias at Thirsk last time out and is taken to make amends in this similar contest. Drawn up against the stands side fence in stall 19, Philip Makin’s filly found herself in an uncompromising position at the halfway stage and even though she finished to good effect to grab third on the line, she was always fighting a losing battle against two racing down the favoured middle of the track. Better drawn tonight in stall five, the daughter of Camacho should be able to track the speed before picking off her rivals late on.