Andy Holding's Friday Racing Tips

It’s been a little while between drinks where AZANO (best priced at 5-2) is concerned but David O’Meara’s gelding has been knocking on the door pretty loudly of late and today’s contest represents a fine opportunity for him to regain the winning theme.

Winless since capturing a Group 3 as a three-year-old, the son of Oasis Dream has been fairly highly tried in the interim period and he’s just basically been one of those horses who has fitted into the twilight category of being not quite good enough for pattern contests and being set too stiff a task in handicaps. Despite those issues, the five-year-old has still managed to perform to a decent standard in defeat and with his latest effort at Pontefract being advertised by the runner-up, Rhoscolyn, at Goodwood last week, there’s more than a fair chance he can copy his stable mate and put up a bold bid here - even more so if the forecast rain arrives in reasonable quantities.

Quite a few in-form runners set to go to post for this competitive handicap hurdle, none more so than CHINA PRINCESS (NAP) (best price 11-2) and she rates a strong choice to back up her previous C&D victory back in May.

A winner of a bumper at Ballinrobe back in 2019, Peter Fahey’s mare took a while to acclimatise to the rigours of jumping hurdles, but she finally pieced it altogether here three months ago when, despite racing on the slowest part of the track around the inside, she stayed on strongly off a solid pace to score with a bit up her sleeve. Looking at the numbers she posted that day, not only was her overall speed figure the fastest on the eight-race card, her final circuit of 2.12.2 was also the best and quicker than one of her main market rivals, Good World, who ran the same lap in 2.13.7 despite having the luxury of running over a half a mile shorter. Based on those findings, it makes little sense why the daughter of Shantou is a bigger price than her old rival and then when you add in the fact the likes of Nodoubtaboutthat and Sweet Sixteen have won competitive handicaps since finishing well behind her in a Cork contest which was run at a sound gallop last time out, it all adds up to suggest she looks overpriced at her morning odds.

VERHOYEN (best price 17-2) was uncharacteristically below par by his standards at the Curragh last time out and he clearly needs to do a good deal more here, but the one thing he has in his favour is a potentially advantageous drawn and he’s fancied to outrun his odds if breaking cleanly and jumping under the nearside rail.

Quite often at the Limerick Junction venue – even more so on soft ground – the runners drawn high and racing towards the stands have a distinct advantage on the straight track and it’s often a case, therefore, of looking at those who are likely to capitalise on that fact rather than current form and pounds and ounces. Looking at this race at face value and you’d say Michael Grassick’s gelding is unlikely to beat the likes of Indigo Balance, Steel Bull and Erosandpsyche on the official ratings but the pure maths might not mean anything if he can race on much better ground. Two starts ago at the Curragh and a bright start meant the six-year-old never looked like getting caught in a viciously-competitive premier handicap over the minimum trip and a repeat of something close to that level of form should see him put up a bold show here this evening.