Andy Holding's Saturday Racing Tips

Now there are eye-catchers, then there are eye-catchers from the Aidan O’Brien stable and when they come as first-time-out two-year-olds, they are usually worth following next time and that was very much the case where PEACEFUL (NAP) (best price 7-4) was concerned on her debut.

Not overly fancied for her opening gambit at the Dublin-based venue 37 days, the daughter of Galileo wasn’t best placed as the field turn for home in what turned out to be a steadily run affair and as a result, she rather got left flat-footed as the tempo increased inside the final three furlongs. She did, however, pick up in pretty stylish fashion in the dying embers of the contest to strongly suggest she has a decent amount of ability and with a massive chunk of improvement likely to be forthcoming – which is normal the case from a Ballydolye juvenile – this Group 1 Fillies’ Mile entry has all the right credentials for punters to get excited.

The race won by Wichita at the Curragh last month was probably an above-average maiden and even though BLIGH (best price 11-1) failed to land any discernible blow towards the main players, he did more than enough to offer plenty of promise for the future.

Held up towards the rear of the pack, Joseph O’Brien’s colt only had one behind him as the field swept passed the intersection just over three out, but from that point onwards, he showed plenty of positive signals for the future. Quickening past a good half a dozen rivals inside a short space of time despite running green, the son of Camelot strongly intimated he would be a totally different proposition next time out and having bagged the favourable inside draw, a good clean break and decent early track position should result in a far more productive effort all round. He’s also worth backing each-way in the without the favourite markets.

One of the big Autumn 1m2f handicaps, which is sometimes a pointer towards the Cambridgeshire, looks to be a decent renewal and of those towards the front end of the market, CARADOC (best price 7-1) makes the most appeal at the morning prices.

A lightly-raced sort, the four-year-old has only recently been dipping his toe in to some better-quality handicaps at the bigger meetings and he certainly hasn’t appeared out of place based on his latest exploits. A smooth winner of a Class 3 event at Windsor in mid-August, Ed Walker’s gelding went to York recently to see whether he could cut the mustard at a higher level and the answer turned out to be very much in the affirmative. Set a stiff task on turning for home, the son of Camelot made up a tremendous amount of ground in the latter stages of what turned out to be a very strongly-run affair on the Knavesmire, leaving the impression he would have won had he been given a more positive ride. Although he stayed the 1m4f trip well enough that day, he still appears the type likely to be better served by two furlongs less and with Ryan Moore booked do the steering seen as a positive statement of intent, Caradoc has every chance of providing his in-form handler with another notable success over a track and on ground that will suit. Looking ahead, if he does win or certainly goes close at the very least, his current odds of 33-1 for the Cambridgeshire the following weekend would look huge.

SUMMERGHAND (best price 10-1) has pretty much had a season ticket for all there big Saturday sprint handicaps throughout the campaign and having run with great credit in pretty much every one, no one would begrudge him his day in the sun.

A shade disappointing in this race last year when maybe the heavy ground was to blame, David O’Meara’s gelding has hardly put a foot wrong since despite not winning and when you take a good look at his body of work since April, it makes for pretty impressive reading. Runner-up to the smart pair On The Warpath and Flavius Titus first off was backed up by a cracking effort in the Wokingham – form which worked out well subsequent – and then came another solid effort in the Stewards Cup followed by another near miss in the Great St Wilfred on his latest start. Although no match for the massively improved Dakota Gold that day, his conqueror is now rated 110, and with the rest of a top-quality field well beaten in behind, the son of Lope De Vega easily ran to a personal best. Clearly at his best in a big-field, well-run six-furlongs on fast ground, the five-year-old also looks well-placed in stall 13 on the evidence of the sprint races on the first two days of the meeting and with some firms offering seven places in their each-way terms, odds of 11-1 look more than fair for this ever-consistent performer.

It’s a shame Shauyra is now a non-runner as she was worth taking on at a short price, but her defection as at least now paves the way clear PERSUER (best price 15-8) to take advantage.

Slow away and too green to do herself justice on her only start last season, the daughter of Intello was nicely backed to make a winning seasonal reappearance when upped in trip at Kempton off the back of a 323-day layoff and although she proved no match for the easy winner, Strelka, she went through the race like a pretty useful prospect. Staying on nicely in the closing stages despite not being knocked about, the three-year-old filly still managed to clock the sort of numbers that more than suggest she’s capable of landing a middle-distance novice event in due course and today might easily turn out to be the day she strikes.