Andy Holding's Wednesday Racing Tips

LILAC ROAD (best price 9-1) wouldn’t be the first horse to have tried and failed in her attempt to make all the running on Newcastle’s round course last time and if you are prepared cast aside that disappointing performance and concentrate on her more positive displays on turf, William Haggas’ filly probably has a better chance of bouncing back to her best than the morning odds imply.

Stepped up to 1m2f for the first time at Newbury two starts ago after finishing a creditable third in a listed contest over a mile at Goodwood, the daughter of Mastercraftsman was heavily involved right from the outset in what turned out to be an extremely strongly-run contest and although she ended up coming out on the wrong side of the argument with Creative Flare, her performance earned her a big speed figure. Having decided to set off in front at the Gosforth Park venue 47 days ago, that project was always likely to end in disaster given the overall data for pace setters, but hopefully connections will have learnt a valuable lesson from that display and exercise a little more caution with how they decide to approach today’s similar affair.

ROYAL EAGLE (best price 6-1) caught the eye with the way she travelled in a well-run maiden at the Curragh on her debut last month and with her fitness levels likely to be at a point where she can see the trip out all the way to the line this time around, Denise Foster’s filly rates a strong choice in her bid to get off the mark.

Dropped out from her wide draw at the Co Kildare venue, the daughter of Free Eagle began to make serene progress to race just behind the leaders approaching the home turn and she looked as big a threat as any heading inside the final two furlongs. Unfortunately, from that point onwards she visibly tired, but she was looked after by Colin Keane in the latter stages and hopefully that sympathy will be rewarded in due course. Racing against her own sex tonight, her high cruising speed she allow her to meander into the business end of the race fairly unruffled and from that point it’s just a case of whether she has the backbone to go and finish off the job.

MABO (best price 15-2) could have done with a better draw here this evening, but he still deserves a fair amount of attention based on his overall form at tonight’s track and the speed figure he managed to post in victory at the Welsh venue last time out.

In the money on all five starts at tonight’s track, including two wins, Grace Harris’ grey was once again seen to good effect over the extended seven-furlong trip at this galloping track when coming from some way back to ultimately score with a bit up his sleeve. Moreover, his winning speed figure turned out to be very good for the grade and so was his closing three-furlong split of 33.9, which was only better by the 84-rated Harrow on the seven-race card. Having won off a mark of 59, even a small rise in the ratings means he’s still well treated on the pick of his old form and given how he seems to always save his best form for the Carmarthenshire air, the son of Aussie Rules makes plenty of appeal at the morning prices.