Andy Holding's Sunday Racing Tips

CALVINIST (best price 4-1) may have been well beaten at Cheltenham last time out but given the type of horse he was up against compared to those he faces today is like chalk and cheese, Kevin Frost’s gelding can take advantage of a huge drop in class.

It may have seen like a mandatory Class 3 affair at Prestbury a month ago, but as it turned out, the time figure was exceptionally good and with the likes of Guard Your Dreams, Coole Cody, Captain Morgs and Art Approval all boosting the form since, it’s little surprise the son of Holy Roman Emperor was out of his depth. That said, he wasn’t totally disgraced and now back in much calmer waters at a track where his form figures read 231, the eight-year-old has a better chance of his odds suggest of following up his C&D victory here two months ago.

Connections of KILLER KANE (best price 5-4) enjoyed a tremendous result at Ascot yesterday with Lostintranslation bouncing back to his very best and they may not have to wait too long before they revel in the glow of another victory in the shape of this exciting young chaser.

The feature of this National Hunt season so far has been the exceptionally fast times some of the novice handicap chases have posted and the one won by Papa Tango Charly at Carlisle a month ago was easily one of those in that category. Both Karl Phillipe and Dreams Of Home ensured the pace was brisk right from the start and having settled nicely just off the speed in the first mile or so, Colin Tizzard’s gelding soon got into a nice jumping rhythm. Maintaining a solid technique throughout despite the helter-skelter gallop, the son of Oscar looked to be going a well as anything turning for home but whereas the front two stayed on strongly all the way to the line, he visually seemed to run out of steam after jumping the last. As far as chase debuts go, his effort was about as good as connections could have wished for other than winning and with the distinct possibility of even more to come, it would take something catastrophic on his behalf for him not to make hay off his current mark at some stage this season and today’s contest looks as good a place as any to back up that viewpoint.

Gordon Elliott has won this race four times in the last decade so it makes sense to focus on what the Co Meath handler sends to post and of his septet of challengers, RUN WILD FRED (best price 5-1) rates the standout candidate.

Amazingly still a maiden over fences after eight starts (so was Rule The World until he won the Grand National), the son of Shantou competed in some of the best staying handicaps in Ireland last season, his excellent runner-up in the Thyestes Chase at Gowran backed up by an even better display in the Irish Grand National on his final outing of the campaign. On both occasions he proved that he’s well suited by a thorough test, so it was somewhat of a surprise that he began this term over 2m4f at Cork recently. Despite one or two niggly errors - probably due to the extra emphasis on speed – the seven-year-old still kept on in pretty admiral fashion to chase home the much speedier

Cape Gentleman and that effort should have served the purpose of putting a nice edge on his fitness here today. Seen as a long term Grand National prospect (has a good deal of symmetry with many previous Aintree winners), it’s hard to envisage him not going well in a race that should suit and an anticipated positive display would see his current odds of 33-1 for the world’s greatest steeplechase drop significantly.

MI LADDO (NAP) (best price 11/4) was a shade unlucky not to score over today’s C&D a month ago, but after making amends with a victory which hinted he had more up his sleeve than the official margin suggested at Taunton last time out, the improving grey can provide his in-form handler with another winner.

A horse who likes to be ridden cold out the back, Milton Harris’ gelding can be a hostage to fortune and that’s exactly what happened to him here two starts ago when he got no run at a crucial stage in the home straight. Whether he would have won for certain that day is open to debate, but either way, he duly gained deserved compensation 20 days later, when quickening up well in the closing stages to land some tidy bets. Looking at the numbers he posted at the west country venue, they reveal he not only posted a fair overall time figure for the grade, but his final circuit time of 2.12.8 (from the path going away from the stands to the line) was 1.6 seconds quicker than the 128-rated Time To Tinker and 1.9 better than See The Sea who is now up to 130. Based on those findings, just a 6lb rise in the ratings to 82 strongly suggest the assessor may still be some way short of the mark with this five-year-old so providing Paddy Brennan can yet again work his magic in the saddle, the combination should prove very hard to beat.