Andy Holding's Thursday Racing Tips

A Different Kind has been quite impressive in landing two bumpers over today’s course, but in the shape of KENDANCER (best price 2-1), he faces an opponent well versed in the rigours of running a well-run novice hurdle and at the morning odds, Charles Brynes’ gelding makes the most appeal.

Successful in a maiden hurdle at Ballinrobe in August, the five-year-old was pitched into a useful-looking winners-of-one novice event at the Listowel Festival a month later and although he ultimately came up a little short, his performance deserves a decent amount of credit in the context of the figures the race produced. The winner, Off Your Rocco, clocked a very fast time and has gone on to advertise the value of the form by landing a listed race at Limerick next time, while the runner-up Farout had previously bolted up at Cork and is very highly regarded by connections. It’s also worth pointing out that the son of Kendargent was asked to challenge on the slowest part of the track up the home straight, which didn’t help matters, but even in finishing a 15-length fourth he still ended up posting a career-high effort based on pure numbers. In what ostensibly appears a two-horse race between himself and the Donald McCain-trained hurdling debutante, it will be fascinating to see how this race pans out tactically but providing he’s ridden in such a way whereby his experience is utilised to its full potential, there’s more than a fair chance he can cause a mini-shock.

BROOMFIELDS JEREMY (best price 5-2) was entitled to need the outing after a 240-day break at Punchestown last time out he makes plenty of appeal with the benefit of that run under his belt returning to a track where he ran out quite an impressive last season.

Since being fitted with a hood and adopting a more conservative approach to how he races, the son of Jeremy has seen considerable improvement in his results and following a breakthrough success at Kilbeggan last September, he went on to produce a career-high display over today’s C&D four months later. In what looked a competitive rated novices’ contest on paper beforehand, the six-year-old could be spotted going best from a long way out and when asked to go and seal the deal after jumping two out, he found a ready change of gear to pull clear of his rivals to the tune of 13 lengths. An early casualty when as short as a 5-2 shot to beat the likes of subsequent EBF Final hero Capadano and useful 135-rated Crosshill at Thurles on his final outing of the campaign, his comeback effort has already been boosted by the winner, Aldo The Apache, landing the Brown Lad handicap at Naas last weekend, and with a return to soft ground also seen as a plus, Philip Dempsey’s gelding makes more appeal than most.

CAPTAIN JIMMY (best price 4-1) won with any amount in hand at Galway last time out and even allowing for the fact Patrick Kelly’s gelding is slightly dropping back down in distance, he’s still fancied to repeat the dose.

A 17-race maiden going into his latest encounter at Ballybrit, clearly many weren’t fazed by that slight negative as the son of Gold Well was still a very warm order in the market and as it turned out, his legion of supporters proved to be spot on. Always going well in what turned out to be a reasonably well-run race for the grade, the eight-year-old cruised in behind the leaders approaching two out and then with an instant, a flick of the reins and he shot clear in a matter of strides to storm up the hill and score in the style of a well-handicapped horse. How much he had in hand is anyone’s guess, so the 10lb estimated by the handicapper may still be nowhere near the mark, but either way, he looks well worth supporting again as conditions, similar to what they were 18 days ago, are likely to plat more into his strengths than most.

DURDLE DOOR (best price 7-1) caught the eye with the way she finished off her race from the rear of the field at Kempton last time out and with that performance after a 125-day layoff being her first one since undergoing wind surgery, there’s a decent chance he will improve sufficiently enough to take a hand in this similar contest tonight.

Casting aside her normal aggressive front-running role for a more measured approach, Gary Moore’s filly was held up in the early stages at the Sunbury venue with a view of arriving late on the scene and although those tactics ultimately proved her undoing, the way she finished off her race suggested she certainly has the requisite speed for six-furlongs. Likely to be a good deal sharper and, just as importantly, more confident with her breathing, a better break from her inside draw will hopefully result in her being positioned a little further up the field tonight and if that proves to be the case, the daughter of Sepoy can be competitive at the business end.