Sunday Racing Tips from Andy Holding

HAVE SECRET (best price 9/4) never got a chance to be competitive because of a wide draw at Pontefract last time out, but with his gate position offering little in the way of an excuse here this afternoon, Richard Fahey’s colt has a decent opportunity to show his true worth. 

Promising on his first two starts against above-average opposition, the son of Havana Gold was handed the coffin box stall right out on the wing at the Yorkshire venue 16 days ago, so in order to make the best of a bad situation, his pilot immediately switched him left out of the gates to race against the rail. Unfortunately, in doing so, the chestnut found himself behind a wall of horses as the field turned for home and he ended up having to sit and suffer before a gap appeared. Once out in the clear, he came home to such effect it’s easy to draw to the conclusion he would have been a big player on a level playing field and having been given a workable mark for his nursery debut, a decent break from his favourable draw should see him go very close to shedding his maiden tag.

TEED UP (best price 9/4) ran an extraordinary race for a horse with so little form over hurdles here the other night and with today’s contest a good deal easier in terms of class, Emmet Mullins’ gelding is fancied to go one place better. 

Having his first out for 127 days, the five-year-old was held up towards the rear of the field in the early stages and with one or two shoddy jumps preventing him from making any discernible ground in the middle part of the race, things didn’t look overly promising racing downhill towards the second last. However, from that point onwards, the son of Gleneagles really picked up the bit and with a powerful late charge, he ran on strongly to almost claim the prize. A dual winner on the Flat when conditions were testing, he clearly requires a similar surface to be as effective over hurdles and providing his technique is a little cleaner than it was two days ago, he can end the week on a high for a trainer who has already tasted plenty of success during the festival.

BENEFIT RUN (best price 7/1) has run really well each time he has raced over today’s C&D and with the latest of those exploits coming when runner-up in this very contest last season, Ross O’Sullivan’s gelding looks to have been primed prepared for another crack a year on. 

Sent off 50-1 twelve months ago, the son of Beneficial looked likely to cause an upset when cruising to the front after the last, but having established what appeared a race-winning move, he couldn’t quite fend off the late challenge of Abbey Magic. Looking at the way he’s been campaigned, it’s noticeable that his shrewd handler has used a two-mile hurdle for the second year in a row in order to put the final touches to his preparations and with the fact that Jordan Gainford is one of the few strong jockey’s in the weighing room who can be called upon again to get down to today’s minimum weight, it all adds up for the 10-year-old to go well again off a winnable mark. 

FOX’S SOCKS (NAP) (best price 9/4) put in a decent shift despite not gaining maximum reward at Hexham last time out, but an effort of similar magnitude should see Alex Hales’ gelding go close to going one place better. 

Having his third start for current connections at the Borders venue, the son of Crillon made the running at a decent tempo and having shaken off all bar one of his rivals rounding the home bend and up the hill, he kept on bravely to force the eventual winner to pull out all the stops all the way to the line. Posting a career-high time figure in defeat, the lightly-raced seven-year-old has his optimum conditions – 2m4f on good ground – to gain compensation.