Andy Holding's Monday Racing Tips

One win in 19 starts for ROYAL CANFORD (best price 11-2) strongly suggests she’s not one for maximum stakes, but at the same time, she’s more than capable of holding her own against this sort of company and she’s fancied to take advantage of her potentially favourable inside draw. 

Despite her poor win-to-run ratio, Willie McCreery’s filly does tend to go well in well-run, big-field handicaps as she proved at this meeting last year when runner-up in competitive 17-runner contest over a mile. Going on to finally shed her maiden tag in a similar handicap at the Curragh a month later, she showed her versatility that day by scoring over six furlongs and it’s that combination of speed to hold her position and stamina to see out the trip up the hill which makes her so appealing here tonight back over her optimum of seven-furlongs. Well drawn in stall one providing she hits the lids and holds her position around the curb, the daughter of Canford Cliffs is likely to be bang there with a chance turning for home and from that point she should have every chance of sealing the deal.

THE MPEX KID (best price 4-1) returned after a long absence in sparkling form at Fairyhouse 39 days ago and providing he’s in somewhere near the same sort of shape after another little mini-break, Dot Love’s gelding has a fine chance of repeating the dose. 

Having his first outing for 336-days, the son of Tamayuz was nibbled at in the market to make some sort of impact on handicap debut and he didn’t disappoint by running out a comfortable winner of what looked a competitive affair on paper. Moreover, the time figure he posted was particularly good for the grade, so even though he’s been raised quite significantly by the assessor subsequently (the Irish handicapper seems to be a good deal harsher with his punishments than his UK counterparts), he still should be competitive even off his revised rating. 

It looks like all the big boys’ have come out to play again in a race that every amateur worth their salt wants to win and with Willie Mullins having landed this sought-after prize for the last three years with Great White Shark, Uradel and Whiskey Sour, it’s fairly predictable Sharjah is the main focus of attention in his bid to make it four on the spin. Let’s face it, none of today’s line-up could have come there swinging on the bridle off the home turn in a Champion Hurdle like he did this season and although he ended up being outpaced on the run-in by Epatante, his performance puts into perspective what he’s capable of achieving when he’s on his A-game. If there is a slight question mark about his make-up, his levels of consistency aren’t the greatest, so for those toying with the idea of backing the son of Doctor Dino at a very short price have to bear in mind he’s also capable of back-tracking after a good run. Having bolted up in the Grade 1 Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown back in December, he went on to run nowhere near the same level on his return visit two months later, so although the general feeling is he will improve considerably for his most recent run at the Curragh when he was an eye-catching fourth, it may not turn out to be as straightforward as many anticipate. Moreover, he is a hold-up horse who enjoys weaving his way through horses, so with a 20-strong field and no rider likely to be giving an inch of ground away, he will have to endure quite a bit of luck in running on the way around. 

So, having highlighted it might not all be plain sailing for Sharjah supporters, who might be the likeliest beneficiary of his potential shortcomings and where does the value lie? Well, look no further than his Curragh conqueror DALTON HIGHWAY (NAP) (best price 8-1) who exhibited a rare turn of foot for a stayer at the business end of that two-mile contest at the Co Kildare, and even though he’s been raised in the ratings as a result, he still makes plenty of appeal at the prices to uphold the form. 

Held up way off the pace in what turned out to be an extremely well-run contest 29 days ago, Dermot Weld’s gelding only had a handful behind him as the field turned for home, but coming with a devastating run from the two-furlong pole, he surged past virtually the entire field to score going away. Indeed, when you look at his final three-furlong split of 34.9 and compare it with Speak In Colours (34.8) and Magical (34.8), it puts into perspective how fast he was trapping in the closing stages. Whether Sharjah was fully tuned up or not, the fact that the son of Zoffany managed to pull eight lengths clear of his old rival in such a short space of time was impressive and with the third home, Lynwood Gold, going on to advertise the strength of the form/timefigure next time out, there’s no reason to pour cold water over the performance. Additionally, the seven-year-old has plenty of experience at Ballybrit having raced here six times in the past and with his latest visit resulting with the runner-up spot in this race last year from the worst possible draw (forced to race wide from stall 21), it’s clear that he knows what he’s doing around tonight unique track. Although his latest victory came on good ground, it’s noticeable that two of his best efforts in premier handicaps on the Flat last season came on soft ground - as did a win over hurdles at Leopardstown during the winter - and providing his leading amateur pilot Jamie Codd can get him into a decent position early from his relatively favourable draw in stall six, it’s hard not to see Dalton Highway having a huge say in the final outcome. 

Of the rest, De Name Escapes Me has to come into the picture having chased home Dalton Highway at the Curragh last time out, while it was hard not to be impressed with the way Princess Zoe dismantled her rivals at the same venue recently and the overnight rain won’t have harmed her cause either. 

ELIZABETHOFARAGON (best price 6-4) arrives here bang on top of her game and she’s strongly fancied to follow up her recent victory at Down Royal and complete a quick hat trick. 

Off the mark at the fourth attempt on handicap debut at Leopardstown two starts ago, Aidan O’Brien’s filly carried plenty of confidence behind her going into his next assignment at Down Royal last week and despite a slight drop back in trip a potential concern, she came through with flying colours. Once in top gear turning for home, the daughter of Galileo always seemed likely to reel back the front-running exploits of four-timer seeking Wilderness and with the pair well clear of the rest in a fast time, the form looks solid. Additionally, she proved she can handle a bit of ease in the ground, which is what she will encounter here tonight and with stamina seemingly the number one asset to her game, the lightly-raced filly should also be well-served by the stiff nature of Ballybrit.

LIGHTHOUSE LADY (best price 50-1) looks a complete no hoper according to the market, but her latest effort in a strong fillies’ handicap last time out suggests she has a much better chance than her morning odds imply and she’s worth a small interest to see whether she can pull off a massive shock. 

On the face of it, this 68-rated maiden has no right to be a consideration for a race of this nature, and that might turn out to be the case, but she did run extremely well for a 25-1 outsider in a hot fillies’ handicap at Killarney last time out, so there is a little light at the end of the tunnel regarding her prospects. Indeed, the time figure of that race in question Co Kerry venue was very good and with the winner going on to finish a creditable third in a listed contest at Gowran over the weekend, there is plenty of substance surrounding that contest 14 days ago. The way she stayed on from the rear of the field that night suggested the combination of soft ground, 1m4f and a return to cheekpieces all worked in her favour and having also run well on her only previous visit to tonight’s track at this meeting last year, it wouldn’t be the biggest shock to see her easily outrun her 50-1 price tag.

The maiden won by Shatha at Kempton just after the restart was noted for its strong time figure and having run a big race on debut in that well-run affair, ROZALIA (best price 11-4) makes plenty of appeal in what looks on paper a much weaker contest here this evening. 

Slow away and in rear early, James Fanshawe’s filly had to sit and suffer for majority of the journey at the Sunbury venue, but once out in the clear turning for home, she came home with a fair rattle to finish a never-nearer third. Finishing just behind the front two, the daughter of Sir Percy still claimed the scalps of two subsequent winners in the shape of Asiaaf and Au Claire Du Lune and with the likelihood of even more to come with that initial experience under her belt, she is strongly fancied to get the better of Artic Victory, who in contrast, posted a very modest time figure when scoring on her debut over tonight’s course.