Andy Holding's Sunday Racing Tips

A good blend of older horses lock horns against several up-and-coming four-year-olds in this above-average-looking staying listed affair and of those in the latter category, it’s very hard to split TRUESHAN (best price 9-2) and FIRST IN LINE (best price 5-1).

The pair first met in the best three-year-old staying contest of the season over today’s C&D back in October and having travelled well throughout, it was the former who came out on top. In doing so, Alan King’s gelding posted an extremely fast time figure and with the runner-up and himself stringing the rest out like Monday morning washing, it looked a display of a future pattern race performer. The mere fact he then went on to lower the colours of the impressive Melrose winner, Hamish - who is also mentioned in the same bracket - backed up that viewpoint and even though there’s half a chance he may not quite be at fever-pitch on his first outing for 226 days, he still should be good enough to figure prominently and set himself up for a tilt at the Ebor – his main objective – later in the season.

The latter will also no doubt have the York race firmly in his radar given his upwardly-mobile profile and today’s contest looks the ideal start for John Gosden’s gelding. Similar to Trueshan, in as much as he progressed as the season evolved, the son of New Approach was the only one to offer any sort of resistance to his old rival in that well-run Newmarket affair and with the pair pulling well clear, his effort in lugging top weight was a highly commendable one. Rounding off the campaign with a hard-fought victory, the form of that race at Chelmsford looks even better in the light of the exploits of Friday’s winner Holy Kingdom, and hailing from a yard who also have been hitting the target on a regular basis since the restart, the scopey four-year-old is hard to leave out of calculations.

GOOD BIRTHDAY (NAP) (best price 5-2) was a regular in some hard-knocking, big-field handicaps last season, acquitting himself with great credit on several occasions, and hailing from a yard who have begun the season in excellent form, Andrew Balding’s gelding is fancied to kick of his campaign in the best possible fashion.

A massive eye-catcher in a red-hot three-year-old handicap at Newbury this time last year, the son of Dabarisim continued on an upward curve all the way through the rest of the campaign and by the time he ended up at his final destination in the Cambridgeshire over today’s course on his final start, he’d worked his way up the ranks from a mark of 82 to a concluding 98. Not quite good enough to cope with the well-treated Lord North in the 30-runner cavalry charge on the day, he still came out of the race with great credit in finishing a close-up third and with the likelihood of further improvement to come now gelded, this likeable type should go close to picking up where he left off last season.

Connections of SAFE VOYAGE (best price 5-2) would have been desperate for some rain to give John Quinn’s gelding every chance of repeating last year’s success in this race and with their prayers being answered to the tune of 16mil yesterday, the prospects of him doing so have taken a huge step in the right direction.

Despite not receiving the clearest of runs twelve months ago, the son of Fast Company still managed to exhibit a smart turn of foot to extract himself out of pocket and in executing his biggest win of his career up to that point, he proved unequivocally that he belonged in pattern company. Making it 4-4 at the Merseyside venue on his very next outing in a Group 3 contest, the seven-year-old ended up with two solid placed efforts in the very highest grade towards the backend of the season and a repeat of any of those performance on his return to his happy hunting ground should be good enough to get him over the line in front again.

MILLISLE (best price 4-1) represents a stable who had an embarrassment of riches in this department last season - so you’d like to think Jessica Harrington has some idea of where she stands in a race of this nature – and having already proven herself over today’s course with a victory in the Cheveley Park Stakes towards the backend of the season, she has a profile that suggests she should turn out to be one of the leading players in what appears an open 1000 Guineas.

Just touched off in the Group 3 Dick Poole Stakes at Salisbury in September, the daughter of Starspangledbanner had her sights raised even higher when lining up for the best six-furlongs fillies’ contest of the season and despite being sent off a 16-1 unconsidered outsider, she came through her toughest test to date with flying colours. Momentarily outpaced going down into the dip two out, the chestnut filly picked up really taking fashion going up the hill the other side, and by the time she’d hit the line, she readily put two lengths between herself and the rest of a stellar field that included the likes of Raffle Prize and Tropbeau. Said to have done well throughout the winter and, just as importantly in the last few weeks, she arrives here with plenty of stable confidence behind her chances and with today’s extra two furlongs promising to bring about another dimension to her game, a big run looks on the cards.