Thursday Racing Tips from Andy Holding

CRYSTAL CASQUE (best price 11/4) was unlucky to bump into a resolute opponent at Sandown last time out and with the form of that race at the Esher venue boosted by both the winner and fourth since, Rod Millman’s mare looks the one to beat despite her position in the market suggesting otherwise. 

Runner-up for the third time on the spin, some might question the resolution of the daughter of Helmet, but when you look at the speed figure of her latest exploits 28 days ago, they suggest she must have been busting a gut to run as fast as she did and it came as no surprise to see her conqueror boost the form back at the same track next time.

Up against a horse who set off at a tremendous tempo and maintained the gallop all the way to the line, the seven-year-old mare only just narrowly failed to gain the day, but even so, it was a performance that allowed her to post a career-high time figure on her cv on her 46th attempt, which suggests she’s in excellent heart. Moreover, she has a terrific relationship with today’s track, as form figures of 1332216 testify, and with the promising Oliver Searle seen as a positive booking in the saddle, the consistent mare is strongly fancied to keep that trend going in the right direction.

ALL THE TIME (best price 10/1) is sure to have gained great confidence from a comfortable success at Chester last time out and with the speed figure of her performance on the Roodee suggesting it was a good deal better than appeared to the naked eye, Simon & Ed Crisford’s filly should be more than well equipped to make the step back in pattern company a seamless one. 

Well beaten in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot, the daughter of Kodiac fared a little better when having her sights lowered at Goodwood next time, but it still looked as though she lacked the basic speed for the minimum trip against the very best fillies around.

Upped to six furlongs for the first time 12 days ago, she looked a good deal more comfortable right from the start and when asked to go and win her race at the furlong pole, she impressed with the way she stretch out all the way to the line.

Posting a very fast time for a race of that nature, it was good to see the third horse home boost the form at Lingfield yesterday, and even though she could have done with a slightly better draw here this afternoon, her morning odds are sufficiently big enough to warrant an each-way investment. 

OSCAR’S SISTER (best price 6/1) proved no match for the impressive debutante Leitzel over today’s C&D last time out, but in terms of qualifying for a handicap mark, it was certainly a compelling enough performance to make Julie Camacho’s filly an interesting contender on nursery debut. 

Dropped out from the widest draw (stall 11 of 11), the daughter of dandy Man took a while to settle down into a rhythm after being a little keen in the early stages, but once she consented to drop her head, she was noted going well with three furlongs to run. Tracking the run of the eventual winner, she couldn’t quite muster the burst of speed displayed by David O’Meara’s filly, but she did manage to surge by the rest of the field to finish an honourable second and given that her conqueror could end being a fairly useful sort in future, her effort has to go down as a commendable one.

Handed an opening mark of 72, that initial assessment seems more than workable in the context of the numbers she posted at the Merseyside venue 27 days ago and with her knowledge of today’s track also likely to count for plenty, the two-year-old chestnut makes quite a bit of appeal at the morning prices. 

MAJESTIC (NAP) (best price 15/8) just got caught out by the nature of the track at Beverley last time out, but now returning to a circuit which is sure to play more into his strengths, Mick Channon’s gelding rates a strong choice to bounce back to winning ways. 

 A comfortable winner at Pontefract previously, it was easy to see why the son of Conduit was a warm order to follow up on the Westwood last time out, but having been slightly on heels coming out of the gates, he found himself in a position he could never really recover from in the latter stages.

That said, his effort in defeat was still a commendable one based on the speed figure he posted and having run really well against some progressive types over tonight’s C&D earlier in the campaign, all the strnds are pulling favourably in his direction for his return visit.