Andy Holding's Friday Racing Tips

TEBAY (best price 9-2) hasn’t had the rub of the green on his last two visits to today’s track and he’s afforded another chance to gain compensation over a C&D that owns him several favours.

Noted doing some good late work in a tactical affair at the Surrey venue two starts ago, John Best’s gelding was even more eye-catching in a similar heat a month later when once again being victim of some seriously bad luck at a crucial stage. Although only sixth of the ten-strong field, the son of Elzaam would have easily bettered that finishing position with anything like a clear run and it was a performance which strongly hinted he remains in the sort of form that saw him win three of his other five previous outings. Nicely draw today, hopefully he jumps well and holds his position up the inside into the first corner and around the bend and if so, he should end up being poised and ready to deliver his challenge at the business end. Uther Pengradon, third in a hot race over the C&D last time out, looks the main danger on current form and is probably worth a saver for those who like to play two in a race.

GORMANSTON (best price 4-1) great run of form was derailed by a nasty incident at the very first corner here last time out, so with that run effectively a total write-off, there’s a decent chance Nigel Slevin’s gelding will get back in the groove and go close to turning around the form with Blackstone Cliff, who looks incredibly short around the 6-4 mark.

After a string of seconds, the five-year-old finally got off the mark at the 13th time of asking when getting up in the shadows of the post to capture a competitive 1m2f handicap and he was well-fancied to repeat the dose on his latest outing. Breaking nicely to race handy into the bend, he then became the meat in the sandwich as two of his rivals converged on him and from looking like being in a decent position going out on the far side, he ended up get shuffled right through the pack to be towards the rear as the field went down the back straight. Although he made a brave attempt to work his way back into contention in the latter stages, he was always fighting a loser battle, but considering he only got beaten two lengths by Blackstone Cliff given his plight early on, there’s at least some substance to the theory he may be capable of gaining his revenge with a clearer passage. Either way, at 4-1 with most firms offering four places, he rates the solid each-way alternative to the favourite.

Kudbegood has been in consistent form throughout the winter and commands a huge amount of respect but at the same time, he hasn’t been missed in the market around the 2-1 mark and there are a couple at much bigger prices that make more appeal, namely, HOWYOULIKETHAT (best price 9-1) and BOASTY (best price 25-1).

The former is the most difficult one to access due to the fact he’s only had three runs, but there’s a decent chance we might get a better glimpse of his ability now he’s racing in handicaps for the first time. Running much better than his 50-1 odds on debut, Gavin Cromwell’s gelding has come from some way off the pace on each of his last two starts to be never-nearer at the finish and with today’s step back up to a mile likely to see him in a much better light, he’s worth a small each-way interest to see whether an opening mark of 64 in exploitable.

The latter also ran better than his final finishing position suggested over 1m2f here last time out and, as a result, he’s worth a dabble at a big price. A winner over a mile when trained in the UK by Charlie Fellows, the son of Sir Prancealot has clearly taken a while to bed into his new surroundings, but given how strongly he hit the line 14 days ago after being well behind at halfway, there’s now plenty of optimism for the future. Not that well drawn here tonight out in stall 14, he will obviously need a dollop of luck to work his way into the contest, but if they do go hard early and the race fragments late on, he should be well-suited by the potential pace collapse.