Andy Holding's Sunday Racing Tips

MORETTI (best price 11-2) has predominantly been running over seven furlongs of late, but she did run extremely well over today’s C&D three starts ago and she looks more than capable of holding her own again back at the scene of that effort in what appears a similar contest.

Runner-up in that aforementioned heat here two months ago, Les Eyre’s mare was well-backed to go one place better on her return visit next time out and despite not being in a particularly good position tactically as the field swung for home, she found a ready turn of foot inside the final two furlongs to bail herself out of jail. Undone by a poor track position at Redcar last time out, at least the daughter of Requinto came out best of those housed towards the nearside rail, and now returning to a course where her form figures read 321, she looks poised to add to that fine body of work.

ALOHA STAR (best price 16-1) caused a bit of a surprise when landing the Group 2 Airlie stakes over today’s C&D last time out, but there didn’t appear to be too many excuses offered forward by the connections of Frenetic and Mother Earth, so she has to be marked up on winning on merit and repeat performance should enable her to outrun her crazy-looking morning odds of 16-1.

Sent off the outsider of a smart bunch of juvenile fillies here 21 days ago, Fozzie Stack’s filly was always travelling better than her fanciful odds implied and when asked to go and put a seal on the race inside the final furlong, she found enough for pressure to lower the colours of two fillies who had put down two big markers on the figures beforehand. Clearly, the likes of Steel Bull and The Lir Jet are two juvenile colts who deserve the utmost respect given their recent exploits, but in no way should the daughter of Starspangledbanner feel the need to be intimidated by their presence, and considering how well she took to the Co Kildare venue at the first time of asking, it’s difficult to see why she’s been chalked up a 16-1 poke.

DIME A DOZEN (NAP) (best price 3-1) switches back to hurdles despite having shown a fair aptitude for her new vocation over fences since the restart and a race of this nature looks more than within her capabilities based on her current form and wellbeing.

A dual winner between the flags back in 2019, Shark Hanlon’s mare took four goes to get off the mark under rules, but since then, she’s gone on to steadily climb the ladder over hurdles and her victory at Cork towards the backend of last campaign served as only a precursor as to what was to come. Since sent over the larger obstacles, the daughter of Jeremy has run up to an even higher standard and if it wasn’t for a couple of notable errors that ultimately cost her dear in a Grade 3 chase at Galway last time out, there’s little chance we would be seeing her in a race of this nature. Based on her three runs over hurdles and what she’s gone on to achieve of late, the six-year-old mare is surely much better than her opening handicap rating of 116, and with today’s field largely full of exposed and uninspiring types, it would be disappointing if this likeable mare couldn’t put them in their place.

There looks to be several improving three-year-olds in amongst a largely exposed field of handicappers and one of them, CARRYTHEONE (best price 5-1), is taken to fly the flag for the classic generation following his convincing C&D victory here last time out.

Just outrun in the dying strides by subsequent listed winner Delphi at the Co Kildare venue back in June, Johnny Murtagh’s gelding came back to the scene of that narrow defeat three weeks later in a bid to shed his maiden tag at the third time of asking and having been well backed to do so beforehand, he duly obliged. Always going well in the hands of Shane Kelly, the son of Lope De Vega picked up the running going well two out and despite the persistent threat of Finans Bay in the closing stages, he had enough left in the locker to repel one of his main market rivals’ close home. Given an opening handicap mark of 96, it remains to be seen whether the lightly-raced three-year-old is as good as what the assessor thinks, but based on his time figures and the way he carries himself through his races, there’s more than a fair chance he will prove equal to the task.