Andy Holding's Sunday Racing Tips

DUBAI DAYS (best price 17-8) was a little too keen for his own good on hurdling debut at Sedgefield, but he still ran a fair race based on the speed figures and he’s afforded another chance to see whether his ability can be harnessed in the right directions.

Setting off to make the running at the Durham track, Nick Alexander’s inmate took a while to settle down in front and it was that tendency to want to get on with things that ultimately cost him dear in the latter stages. Hopefully, connections will have worked on this slight issue in the ensuing 23 days off and if he does give himself a chance of getting home on this occasion, he has all the right tools to win a race of this nature.

HAPPY DIVA (best price 5-1) has probably never really received the plaudits her consistent profile deserves and she’s rates a confidence choice to prove her victory in the BetVictor Gold Cup is the best 2m4f form coming into this race.

Unlucky in the same race the year before, Kerry Lee’s mare was quietly-fancied to make amends back at the Prestbury Park venue and, having once again travelled best throughout, she found plenty off the bridle to fend off the persistent challenge of Brelan D’As up the hill. Whether she would have beaten the unfortunate Slate House had he stayed on his feet we’ll never know but, with Colin Tizzard’s inmate going on to land a Grade 1 since, he, along with third-placed Warthog, have both boosted the form in the best possible fashion since. Flexible regards ground conditions, the daughter of King’s Theatre clearly arrives here at the peak of her powers at the age of eight and, with her lifetime completion record very much suggesting she’s almost certain to run her race come rain or shine, she can once again can prove that bookmakers have seriously underestimated her chances.

MINELLA INDO (best price 2-1) was the clear pick of this field over hurdles (rated 152), as his Grade 1 Albert Bartlett success testifies, and with Henry De Bromhead’s inmate expected to take a huge leap forward following his fine first effort over fences, he’s fancied to lower the colours of several leading fancies for the RSA Chase later in the season.

As he proved at Cheltenham back in March, stamina is very much his strongest asset, so with that in mind, he was always likely to find 2m4f around Gowran against the much speedier Laurina an insufficient test, and so it proved. That said, the son of Beat Hollow still impressed with the way he jumped and travelled on his first outing over fences and with that run after a 206-day layoff likely to have been needed also, it’s easy to draw to the conclusion he will be a good deal sharper this time. Hailing from a team that have enjoyed a terrific run of form over the Christmas period, the strapping six-year-old can put a marker down in this category for the rest of the season.

Of the rest, SPEAK EASY (best price 50-1) also shaped with plenty of encouragement on his chasing debut at Fairyhouse and there’s simply no way he should be chalked up at 50-1 despite this being a significant step up in class. In what turned out to be an extremely hot contest first time out at the Co Meath venue, Joseph O’Brien’s gelding kept on well from two out to finish a never-nearer third behind subsequent Drinmore runner-up, Ronald Pump, and that effort represents a level of performance that certainly entitles connections to be thinking the son of Beneficial belongs at the top table.

All eyes will no doubt be on Klassical Dream as he bids to get his season back on track, but he may not get things all his own way up against COEUR SUBLIME (best price 4-1) who had no such trouble on his return to action at Down Royal a month ago.

One of the leading juveniles last season, Gordon Elliot’s gelding began this campaign with an outside chance of making the breakthrough into the big league and given the manner of victory at the Co Down venue, there’s more than a fair degree of hope that he’ll have some sort of Champion Hurdle aspirations come March. Seemingly never out of a low gear 58 days ago, the son of Elusive Pimpernel treated some useful opponents with utter distain and on the evidence of that display, he looked a totally different model to the one we witnessed last season. Owned by Chris Jones, who’s a committee member at the track, the four-year-old will have no doubt had this race as one of his main targets all season long and given the form of his yard, it would come as no surprise if he were to carry the famous maroon and white striped silks to victory.

DUCHESS RAVENWAVES (NAP) (best price 17-10) could have won with Big Daddy on her back such was the distain she treated her opponents at Hexham last time out and with the ultra-shrewd Gavin Cromwell reaching for the services of crack conditional, Oakley Brown, to offset some of her burden here today, the combination makes for an irresistible force.

A comfortable winner on the Flat at Tipperary back in August, the five-year-old mare was understandably a warm order to take advantage of what appeared a favourable mark back over hurdles at Killarney next time out, but she ultimately failed to shine in what turned out to be a very competitive and strongly Grade B handicap (winner Darver Star third in a Grade 1 since). That said, she still finished ahead of the likes of Tombstone and Trainwreck and off the back of that run, she was once again well-backed to prove the assessor all wrong, and this time she made no mistake in the first-time tongue-tie. Always going best at the Borders venue, the daughter of Harbour Watch gave jockey Jonathon Moore an armchair ride and even though she only scored by three-quarters-of-a-length, her winning margin doesn’t do justice to her superiority over a decent field of handicappers. Only up 6lb in the ratings (connections couldn’t argue if she got double digits) she actually races off a lower mark here today taking into account the young lads’ claim and, having also proven that she can handle testing ground and today’s track with a victory at the Greenmount Park venue on the Flat a year ago for old connections, she’s strongly fancied to prove she still remains a blot in the handicap.