Andy Holding's Thursday Racing Tips

A race with a rich tradition and today’s field certainly does it justice with even a raider coming over from Ireland just to add an extra layer of spice to proceedings. Amazingly, it was a race Richard Hannon Sr only managed to take once during his long and illustrious career, but it hasn’t taken too long for his son to improve than strike-rate taking two of the last running’s of the listed affair and the East Everleight handler looks to have fine prospects of adding to that tally with HAPPY ROMANCE (best price 11-4).

Right from day one she’s looked a class act and following an excellent effort from a bad draw in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot, she quickly gained her due rewards when capturing the Weatherby’s Super Sprint at Newbury a month later. With connections smelling blood for the second time, the daughter of Dandy Man landed a similar prize for connections by lowering the colours of many useful juveniles ay York, bagging a cool 88k for good measure, and she now looks ready to gain much sought-after black type to sit alongside her well-earned bounty. Proving herself a strong stayer at the trip on the Knavesmire 14 days ago, she rates a relatively confident choice to keep her upwardly mobile profile going in the right direction.

We have had to wait quite a while to see BIMBLE (best price 11-2) again following a hugely impressive return to action at Goodwood back in June, but hopefully the wait will be worthwhile as she re-joins the fray in her first handicap off what appears an attractive mark.

A big eye-catcher on her debut at Kempton last season, there was a good deal of anticipation surrounding her comeback outing 187-days later at the Sussex venue and as it turned out, she didn’t disappoint. Held up towards the rear off sound fractions, Henry Candy’s filly made her move heading down to the furlong pole and within a few bounds she quickened up nicely and was away and gone to the tune of three-and-a-half lengths. Clocking a good time in the process, the daughter of Acclamation is clearly well suited by being delivered late after being switched off early and providing she can be equally-effective on today’s slightly easier surface, similar tactics can reap rewards for this promising three-year-old.

DAS KAPITAL (NAP) (best price 7-2) finally came good at the 14th time of asking at Chepstow last time out and with the time figure strongly suggesting it was a fair one for the grade, he’s fancied to repeat the dose on ground that is unlikely bother him than most.

Having run to a career-high on heavy ground at Yarmouth towards the backend of last season, hope was high that John Berry’s gelding would be capable of running to a similar standard providing he was somewhere near to peak fitness first time up after a 245-day layoff, and so it proved, as he bounded to a comfortable success at the Welsh track. Noted going well three out, the son of Cityscape soon had matters in control when asked to go and seal the deal and he could have won by treble his winning margin had he not been seriously eased down close home. A big, strong sort who is able to move nicely across soft ground, he still appears to be on the right side of the assessor if his latest piece of evidence is anything to go by and with a good amateur booked, another big effort looks imminent.

JAC BROWN (best price 11-2) could never really recover from a momentous blunder at the first hurdle going out on the final circuit here last time out and he’s worth one more chance to build on his promising display on his seasonal reappearance at Uttoxeter.

Winner of a bumper back in 2019, Debra Hamer’s gelding hasn’t managed to supplement those gains in seven subsequent outings, but there has been quite a bit of encouragement forthcoming in the interim period, particularly that aforementioned effort at the Midland track back in July. In what turned out to be a strongly-run race, the son of Multiplex kept on stoutly in the closing stages to finish a close-up third and with the winner, Clever As A Fox, going on to record a resounding win at Perth since, the form looks decidedly solid. Although the ground conditions have been good for both his two starts so far this term, it’s worth pointing out he has plenty of form under more testing conditions in the past and with a strong possibility that today’s step up to three miles will prove an inspired move by connections, he can go close off top weight.