Andy Holding's Friday Racing Tips

DASHING DICK (best price 6-1) is in a similar boat to many of his rival here today having not yet won a race, but based on his effort in a much better contest at Newmarket last time out, that unwanted stat might be about to change.

Placed in all five of his races as a juvenile, it’s worth noting one of his better performances came over today’s course on soft ground when he finished a creditable third to the much-improved Aldaary on just his second start. Runner-up to the now 112-rated Rohaan on his final outing at two, the son of Cable Bay’s has not gone quite the way connections would have liked since, but there were more encouraging signs at HQ 26 days ago and a repeat of a similar level of form should see him bang in connection for main honours here today. The way he kept on in the closing stages after not handling the dip on the Rowley mile as well as some was commendable and hailing from a yard who have struck a nice vein of form in the last week or so, William Stone’s gelding rates a fairly solid each-way choice.

LAW OF GOLD (best price 6-1) is little way off some of the so-called ‘big guns’ according to the ratings in the finale to the hunter chase season, but based on the numbers he posted when winning at Fontwell last time out, he’s likely to prove his underestimation in the market to be all wrong.

A winner of the big novice event on tonight’s card two years ago, this race would have automatically been the plan for the following season, but as we know, a certain pandemic intervened. However, the extra year he’s had to mature may turn out to be a blessing in disguise and on the evidence of what we’ve seen of him during the current campaign, he appears a more rounded individual. Twice a disappointment at the Cheltenham Festival, it’s clear the son of Gold Well is more suited to smaller fields and flatter tracks and his victory over the very smart Shantou Flyer at the Sussex venue 15 days ago only served as a reminder of his qualities when conditions are in his favour. Indeed, not only was his overall time figure the best on the seven-race card that day, David Kemp’s inmate managed to run the last circuit three seconds faster than the 144-rated novice, Chapmanshype, which is quite a feat for a hunter chaser. Although in an ideal world he could have done without all the rain in the last week or so, at least the drier weather in the last 48 hours has tightened up the ground considerably from what it was, and with stamina and ability to handle tonight’s C&D assured, he has the capabilities to cause a mini-shock.

There can’t be any coincidence in the fact the two best career efforts from RUN THIS WAY (best price 9-1) have taken place over tonight’s track on soft ground, so with that in mind, Mark Johnston’s filly looks to have been slightly underestimated in the market.

Slow away and never a factor on her debut at Musselburgh last year, the daughter of Cannock Chase made a huge leap forward on her next start over today’s C&D when she made just about all the running for a convincing success. Trying to implement similar tactics on her return visit two months later, she was just outrun by mud-lover First Greyed in the latter stages, but her performance still has to go down as a fair effort under the circumstances and it once again proved her liking for the Merseyside track. Not beaten too far on her return to action at Nottingham last month, the three-year-old filly looked as though she didn’t really enjoy the surface at Chelmsford last time out, but now returning to her favoured soft ground, she has a decent chance of dominating from the front.