Andy Holding's Tuesday Racing Tips

The ground is crucial to the chances of BEAT BOX (best price 6-1), so providing the weather stays dry at today’s Yorkshire track (no rain forecast), James Ewart’s gelding has a more than reasonable chance of figuring in a race of this nature.

A winner of a maiden hurdle last season, the son of Cokoriko has yet to find the sweet spot so far over fences, but there has been a couple of promising performances along the way, including one useful display over today’s course two starts ago. Although no match for the likes of Funambule Sivola (now rated 141) and Exelorator Express (120), those two would be in a totally different league to the sort of rivals he takes on today and given the way he finished off his race that day back in November, there’s also a strong suspicion he requires further than the minimum trip. Unsuited by heavy ground and racing right-handed (tends to jump left) at Carlisle last time, it’s worth noting his next best effort over fences came behind the smart Some Reign on chase debut at Hexham and now racing off a considerably lower mark, the potentially well-treated five-year-old returns to the scene of one of his career best efforts with more than a puncher’s chance.

On a scale of 0-10 of quirkiness, DOYANNIE (best price 12-1) is probably a good solid 6, but at the same time, she has shown on quite a few occasions that she enough ability to land a small race and with today’s contest well within her range based on her run over the C&D back in December, Jack Barber’s mare looks overprices on the pick of her form.

Promising on her debut against solid 120+ novices on her hurdling debut at Fontwell back in November, the daughter of Doyen bombed out on heavy ground at Lingfield next time, but it’s her next run over today’s course which gives her a terrific chance in this much weaker race.

Dropped out the back in what turned out to be a very strongly run affair for a novice hurdle by the track standards, the seven-year-old made up a huge amount of ground in the hottest part of the race to latch on to the leaders swinging for home, and although she failed to maintain her levels of progress all the way top the line, it still goes down as a very commendable effort. Although we haven’t seen the winner from that race, Boothill, since, the likes of Lilly Pedlar and Across The Line have both boosted the form subsequently and you can forget her last two runs because they took part on unfavourable heavy ground. Back on a sound surface on a flat, right-handed track, Doyannie is racing against the sort of opposition she should have little difficulty handling and likely to receive a nice patient ride from the back of the field, it’s easy to see her being hugely competitive towards the business end if her energy can be preserved in the correct manner (can take a keen hold).