Andy Holding's Monday Racing Tips

IRONCLAD (NAP) (best price 11-8) is really beginning to get his act together after a sticky start and the hat trick looks very much on the cards given his current wellbeing. Too green to do himself justice on his first two starts last year, the son of Dubawi has really come of age as he’s strengthened up since the turn of the summer and he hasn’t looked back. A game victory at Beverley served as a pre-cursor to his best performance of his career at Newmarket last time out and with the time figure also pointing towards a fine effort by Hugo Palmer’s colt, he’s fancied to continue his progression on a surface that suits.

A serious case of seconditus going around in this concluding maiden and one of the main culprits, ANGEL’S AMY (best price 5-2) is fancied to get the ultimate cure.

Runner-up to a useful type at Gowran on her debut, Joseph Murphy’s filly filled out the same position on her return visit two weeks later, again shaping with plenty of promise. Fancied to make it third time lucky at the same venue again last time out, she couldn’t quite get to grips with the similarly frustrating Lady Olenna, who set a good gallop and found plenty for pressure. That said, she did manage to finish well clear of the rest and with fourth horse, Invatation, bolting up by five lengths at Galway next time, the form has an even more solid look to it. The likes of Bellakris, Royal Highness, Carefully and Myth Creation all have leading claims, but the daughter of Dragon Pulse has the numbers in the book and she might just have too much quality in the final analysis.

REDROSEZORRO (best price 13-2) ran a good deal better than his finishing position suggested at Chester last time out and providing he ships up here in a similar vein, Eric Alston’s gelding has a decent chance of repeat the successes of last season.

Housed in the coffin box stuck out on the wing, the five-year-old proceeded to run majority of his race in lane eight and in the rear, so to end up finishing a never-nearer sixth having wasted plenty of energy is testimony to his performance that evening. Moreover, the time figure was also exceptionally good for the grade and with the likes of Bossipop and Zac Brown going on to prove the value of those numbers posted, it’s clear the form is pretty watertight. Having run well at tonight’s track on numerous occasions, the son of Foxwedge doesn’t fail on that score either and with ground conditions to suit as well, everything adds up for a positive display.