Andy Holding's Wednesday Racing Tips

SAINTE DOCTOR (best price 15-8) caught a bit of tartar in the shape of Punctuation on her first start after a long break at Warwick last time out and with that all important run under her belt likely to see her in a much better light, Neil Mullholland’s mare can prove she’s a well-handicapped mare off a mark of 108.

Set with a fair task going down the back straight at the Midland venue, the lightly-raced mare did really well to finish as close as she did to the well-backed winner and with the numbers from the race in question strongly hinting it was a fair contest for the grade, her performance is worth even more praise. Since her wind op, she has now run three solid races in succession and with today’s better ground and extra yardage also seen as major positives, her chance rates a fairly clear-cut one.

A tricky little rated race with cases to be made for most of the eight and HOLLOW SOUND (best price 12-1) definitely comes into the equation based on his effort in a decent contest at Navan last time out.

A winner of a bumper at Galway back in 2019, Luke Comer’s gelding hasn’t managed to add to his tally since, but in his defence he’s been set some impossible tasks along the way, including when asked to contest the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle won by Shishkin two years ago. Clearly nowhere near that level, the son of Beat Hollow has taken a while to return to something like his best following that chastening experience and his effort at the Co Meath venue 18 days ago was a bit more like it. Although beaten nine lengths into fourth, the time figure of the race won by Banbridge was by someway the best on the hurdles track and it’s also worth pointing the circuit time of the main players was five seconds quicker than the highly regard Ash Tree Meadow, who landed the maiden hurdle an hour later. Considering the winner is now rated 133, it wasn’t a bad performance from a horse seen as a stone inferior and with two miles on soft ground seen as his optimum based on all known evidence, he rates a fair each-way choice with hopefully all eight runners going to post.

BELLATRIXSA (NAP) (best price 15-8) proved no match for the aggressively-ridden West To The Bridge at Chepstow last time out, but at the same time, she did more than enough to suggest she could be in for another productive season and today’s contest could well be when that viewpoint comes to fruition.

Off the track for 215 days on return to the fray, the daughter of Gregorian was still expected to go well judged on the market vibes and you’d have to say she did very little wrong. Take the winner out and she would have battered the rest and with the time figure of the winner very good for the grade, her effort is worth more than a pound of flesh. A winner over today’s C&D last season, a return to the quaint Shropshire track should spark off good memories and hailing from a yard continuing to thrive, the Venetia Williams-trained mare makes loads of appeal off her current rating.