Sunday Racing Tips from Andy Holding

JUSTUS (best price 11/1) may have only finished third of the five runners at Ascot last time out, but the numbers reveal it wasn’t a bad effort by any means and no pitched back into a level where he should be capable of holding his own, Ian Williams’ chestnut can make his presence felt.

Gumball ensured the pace was generous right from the start at the Berkshire venue and although the son of Galileo looked threatening turning for home, he couldn’t quite match the front two, who just kept rolling a little better in the final furlong. Prior to that useful effort, the four-year-old ran well for a long way at York until his welter burden bogged him down in the latter stages, but there was certainly no disgrace in finishing six lengths behind the well-treated Atacama Desert and the form was upheld by the winner back at the same track yesterday. A soft ground winner when trained in France previously, today’s conditions should therefore suit and at the morning prices, he’s worth a small interest to see whether he can finally get off the mark in this country.

GLORY AND FORTUNE (best price 5/1) ended up dining at the very top table over hurdles after kicking off his season with a win in this race twelve months ago and despite being considerable higher in the ratings, Tom Lacey’s class is expected to come to the fore.

Due to his rapid rise in status last term, the son of Fame And Glory has now become a tricky horse to place, so there’s more than a fair chance he will be revved up for his first outing for 185 days. Good enough to finish a respectable fifth in the Champion Hurdle off the back of his victory in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury, the seven-year-old shaped as though he didn’t stay the 2m4f journey at Grade 1 level at Aintree on his final outing of the campaign but now back over his optimum trip on his favoured decent ground, a repeat success looks very much on the cards. Best in a well-run environment, whether it be a big field or small, Irish raider Effernock Fizz should ensure he has no excuses on that score.

STATELY HOME (NAP) (best price 3/1) ran well extremely well in a red-hot claimer over today’s C&D last time out and a repeat of something similar is likely to see Shaun Lycett’s grey very tough to beat on his return visit.

Returning from a 104-day break, the son of Clodovil faced an unusually classy-looking field for a race of its kind at the Sussex track, but despite being up against many opponents rated in and around the 100 mark, he ended up covering himself with distinction. In a race noted for its strong pace, the five-year-old kept on incredibly well to finish a close-up third after looking in a spot of bother three out and considering he made his challenge on the un-favoured part of the track, his performance deserves extra merit. Back to the scene of that fine display and down two grades to Class 4 level, it would be a surprise if the lightly-raced grey didn’t have a big say in the final outcome.