Andy Holding's Sunday Racing Tips

HELVIC DREAM (best price 7-1) has a bit to find with Broome on their meeting here 20 days ago, but with conditions more in favour of Noel Meade’s gelding for their rematch, there’s a sporting chance he can turn around the form with his old rival. 

A respectable fourth to Aidan O’Brien’s inmate over the same C&D previously, the son of Power ended up being the only one seriously supported against the warm favourite back at the Co Kildare venue and at the two-furlong pole, it looked like he was verging on causing a big surprise. Ultimately, however, the four-year-old didn’t have the basic speed of the winner in the closing stages on ground just on the yielding side of good, but he did manage to finish well clear of the rest, so his performance has to go down as one of the best of his career. As we saw here yesterday, the ground was quite testing for this time of year and with further rain due throughout the day, his form figures racing right-handed under such conditions of 113311, should be further enhanced.

FEV ROVER (NAP) (best price 9-2) must have delighted connections with the way she ran in the 1000 Guineas considering the fast ground wouldn’t have been ideal and now with that run under her belt and returning to a surface which allowed her to land a Group 2 as a juvenile, Richard Fahey’s filly looks sure to go well in the Irish version. 

One of the best fillies of her generation, the daughter of Gutaifan rounded off her season with a creditable effort in the Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp back in October and it wasn’t until 210 days later when we saw her on a racetrack again – back in Group 1 company to mix it against the crop of 2020. Relatively easy to back despite having some of the best juvenile form to call on, she raced hard on the speed throughout and even though she looked as though she might struggle to maintain her position going passed the bushes, she kept on valiantly all the way up the hill to the line to finish an honourable third. Sure to be sharper for that outing in all departments, Fev Rover will hopefully bring her A-game to the table and if so, she should be good enough to hit the frame and the very least.
 

Conditions are likely to be pretty gruelling by the time the runners go to post for this competitive mile handicap, but that shouldn’t bother LAYFAYETTE (best price 5-1) and PEPPERONI PETE (best price 11-1) and they are taken against the field. 

The former has proven his worth on heavy ground many times in the past and his figures under such conditions of 21221 tell you all you need to know about this mud lover. Best over middle distances last season, the drop back to a mile for the Irish Lincoln was a slight concern for connections on his opening bow of the campaign but, as the race became a proper stamina test over the trip, his ability to stay further stood him in good stead. Keeping on well in the final two furlongs, Noel Meade’s gelding won going away and with the time figure and subsequent form shown by many in behind since strongly suggesting it was an above-average renewal, he’s probably not too far away from nudging his way into pattern company. If that is to prove the case, his revised mark of 96 is still up for exploiting and if the runners do edge towards the nearside to look for some better ground as the afternoon progresses, stall 16 should give Chris Hayes ample opportunity to plot a race-winning course. 

The latter is also very reliant on a testing surface to be seen at his best so it’s come as no surprise to see him dish out a sound beating to his opponents twice this season when such conditions have arisen. Firstly, Jessica Harrington’s gelding won by 11 lengths in a fast time at Navan back in March and then he managed to turn away a much classier field last time out at Naas, once again proving to be a very dominant force in the latter stages. Although only 8th of 21 when tackling similar opponents to today when visiting the Co Kildare venue for the first time, he didn’t run too badly considering the ground was way too fast for his liking, and being one of the few in the field who will genuinely enjoy slogging his way through the mud, the son of Zoffany is a must for the shortlist.