Andy Holding is back with French racing tips, his Tuesday Tip is a 2/1 shot at Saint Cloud.
10:40
Smart Whip resumes after a seven-month absence but providing he’s somewhere near peak fitness, the nine-year-old should prove too strong for this field. A multiple winner at listed level back in 2017, the son of Dylan Thomas hasn’t quite been able to scale those heights since, but his effort when chasing home Mille Et Mille when last seen back in October suggests that he still retains plenty of his old ability and the fact that he managed to tip out UK raider Moll Davis 119 days ago also gives that performance some extra clout. A strong stayer at this trip, as his victory in a competitive handicap at Nantes last season testifies, Christophe Lotoux’s gelding has all the credentials to make a bold bid in a race of this nature.
Of the rest, Cartes has also been racing against a better class of opponent in recent times and he rates the main danger on paper. Although he ultimately got beaten a fair way at Compiegne last time out, he was undone by challenging on the slowest part of the track – not to mention the inadequacies of his pilot – and he’s probably better judged on his previous effort when runner-up to the useful Richemont on the all-weather at Deauville.
13:25
As we saw at Longchamp yesterday, the big-field handicaps are not for the faint hearted and that general pessimism has to be the buzz line when approaching this 18-strong line-up.
Sosoft catches the eye towards the foot of the weights having finished a decent second on handicap debut at Chantilly back in October and remains relatively unexposed. Although he has to overcome a 210-day absence, he does hail from a yard who produced Shaman to score nicely off a similar layoff at Longchamp yesterday, so that has to be seen as a huge positive.
Looking back at that Chantilly handicap six months ago, and Asterios has to come into the equation based on his slightly unlucky effort back in fourth. Noted going well just in behind the pace with two to run, the grey son of Maxios failed to obtain a clear run thereafter, but it was significant that he did finish to good effect once out in the clear close home. Fairly consistent in races of this nature throughout last season, it’s also worth pointing out that he came to hand early as well, winning at Dieppe on his second outing, and now he’s proven he stays the mile trip well, he should turn out to be a live player if his outside draw doesn’t prove too much of a barrier.
Of those with more recent form under their belts, Mister Charlie makes a decent amount of appeal now he reverts back to turf following three solid performances on the all-weather. A winner at Chantilly three starts ago, the son of Myboycharlie clearly gets on well with Mickael Barzalona and it’s just a question of whether he has it within his game to break his duck on the grass at the tenth attempt. The ever-consistent top-weight Truco has to come into the mix under these conditions as he probably wants further in an ideal world and there was plenty to like about the way Mr Bold scored in ready fashion last time out.
14:00
Plenty of potential on show in this three-year-old conditions contest and it’s likely to provide many future winners throughout the season - so well worth a watch I’d suggest.
ENZEL (best price 2-1) ran out a wide margin winner (20 lengths) on his debut over today’s C&D back in November and while there always has to be a degree of suspicion attached to such a performance in testing conditions, there’s no denying his raw talent. Similar to Longchamp yesterday, today’s venue has soaked up a huge amount of rain following the weekend’s downpour and that has meant the current very soft ground will suit him more than most based on his scintillating opening display. Likely to be dropped out again, expect him to be delivered with a sustained run in the straight.
Port Guillaume had work a good deal harder for his last-to-first success on his final outing of last season at Cagnes-Sur-Mer, but at least he proved he’s still going in the right direction by backing up his debut success gained at the same track a month earlier. A resolute galloper who appears fairly versatile regards tactics, the Le Havre colt should turn out to be a leading player providing he can handle today’s much softer terrain.
Alfareeq looks a classy individual but, as his two performances have come on the all-weather, it’s difficult to know how he will react to today’s totally different surface. Either way, he’s most definitely one worth noting for the future. Mare Australis is having his first start for Andre Fabre after winning on debut in Munich and is difficult to assess, while Dawn Intello has a similar one-win-from-one-start profile and could be open to any amount of improvement.
14:35
Vienne hails from a stable that had several high-profile reversals at Longchamp yesterday, so that fact is very much worth bearing in mind for those thinking about taking a short price about Jean-Claude Rouget’s filly. That said, she was quite impressive when making all the running to score in the first-time cheekpieces at Compeigne towards the backend of the season and this scopey filly should have no problems tackling similar conditions.
Anobar has yet to win as race but at least she does have relative fitness on her side having finished a creditable third at listed level just before the shutdown. If being critical, she does look a little one-pace, however, and she may be vulnerable to something with a change of gear. Irska showed a willing attitude when causing a 20-1 shock on her debut and although that victory came on the all-weather, her knee action suggests she will be equally at home with some give underfoot. Gemcutter represents top connections, but has to find quite a bit based on her defeat by Vienne on her final start of the campaign, so it may turn out that Gelinka proves best of those chalked up at more fancied odds having shown a bit more promise on her second outing on the all-weather at Deauville.
