Andy Holding's Sunday Racing Tips

The Thyestes Chase turned out to be one of the best handicaps of the season in terms of pure figures and having each run respectably in that hugely competitive staying chase a few weeks ago, both COKO BEACH (best price 10-1) and DEATH DUTY (best price 10-1) are worth more than a second look in a race likely to be run at a more civilised gallop.

The former was the one largely responsible for the searching gallop 17 days ago so it was no great surprise that Joseph O’Brien’s gelding found the lights on the petrol gauge flashing on empty in the latter stages. The other point worth making was he was also asked to race on the slowest part of the track for the final circuit, which certainly didn’t aid his cause, so all things being equal, to finish a respectable sixth was more than commendable under the circumstances. A winner of a Grade 2 on heavy ground last season, the son of Cokoriko is clearly more at home when the conditions are testing and having already proven himself accustom to today’s track in the past, he has a better chance of bouncing back to winning form than his morning odds suggest.

The latter never landed a blow at the Co Kilkenny track but, he too, was another who spent the majority of the three-mile journey slogging his way through the swamp around the inside and his performance deserves upgrading as a result. Previously a Grade 1 winner over fences in the past, Gordon Elliott’s inmate is obviously unlikely to ever get to that level again, but his last two efforts in top-class handicaps have shown he’s not a busted flush just yet and he can make some sort of impact at a track where he’s run two his best races in the past.

Stage Star is without doubt the standard bearer here courtesy of his Grade 1 Challow Hurdle victory, but with some of Paul Nicholls’ team still clearly falling short of the mark, the safest option maybe to look elsewhere and LAC DU CONSTANCE (best price 15-2) could be the one best placed to pounce should the jolly fluff his lines.

It’s probably fair to say Dan Skelton’s grey only offer mild promise in two bumper starts, but based on his performance post wind-op over today’s C&D two months ago, he already looks a totally different proposition. Noted going easily behind the speed turning for home, the son of Martaline sauntered to the front at the second last and from that juncture, he steadily drew clear of his rivals without seemingly coming out of third gear. How much he had left under the bonnet is anyone’s guess, but either way, his time figure was well above the normal average for a race of its kind and with the scope and potential of even more to come, he’s expected to provide Stage Star with the most to think about.

Some promising types on show in this listed hurdle for novices with a wide-open feel to it, but there is a case to be made that AU FLEURON (NAP) (best price 4-1) has one of the strongest form lines coming into the contest and for that reason, he rates the value call at the morning odds.

A winner over of a maiden hurdle over subsequent scorer Ha D’Or at Navan reads well for starters, and then if you take into account his performance in defeat over the same C&D last time out, he looks to be a novice going places. Although Gordon Elliott’s gelding couldn’t quite match the winner’s turn of foot on the run-in, he did keep on valiantly for second and with the time figure extremely good for the grade, it’s become no surprise to see the form work out well since. Both the well-beaten fourth and fifth have finished runner-up in their next races respectively and with today’s galloping track set to suit this future chasing type, the son of Crillon can take his stiffest task so far to date in his stride.