Wednesday Racing Tips from Andy Holding

A very competitive race for the grade and of the eight due to go to post, course regulars ELIOS D’OR (best price 9/2) and NOT AVAILABLE (best price 5/1) look almost sure to have some sort of say in the final outcome.

The former has his own tankard behind the bar, so many times Robert Walford’s gelding has been to the Midland venue, and his latest victory over the C&D was due reward for a series of solid, if slightly frustrating efforts.

Normally a horse who likes to track the pace, the son of Puit D’Or was forced to row his own boat 26 days ago, but despite not having the race run to suit, he still came out of the battle he had with the well-backed Manisane.

Prior to that typically tenacious performance, the eight-year-old put in another decent shift when chasing home the rapidly-improved Clear The Runway 11 days earlier and with both races coming out well on the numbers, it’s easy to come to the conclusion he arrives here today in excellent shape.

The latter never really featured in that well-run affair behind Clear The Runway and Elios D’Or here a month ago, but as it was his first outing for 169 days, a lenient view on his performance is probably the best approach.

Better judged on some of his efforts last season, his victories over the likes of Gumball and Solo still remain fresh in the memory and with the son of Milan likely to be a good deal straighter for his most recent outing, he has a decent chance of going one place better in this race last year. 

MICKEY THE STEEL (best price 4/1) took an eternity to get off the mark, but with his breakthrough success at Dundalk the other night likely to carry a certain amount of new-found confidence forward to today’s assignment, there’s a strong possibility Joe Murray’s gelding can go back-to-back. 

0-24 going into last Friday’s maiden at the Co Lough venue, the son of Hot Streak certainly had the form in the book to come out on top providing he put his best foot forward and as it turned out, he gave his supporters very few anxious moments.

Held up off the pace, the four-year-old still had plenty on his plate as the field turned for home but, in putting in a strong late surge down the middle of the course, he ended up overpowering his rivals to score going away.

On the evidence of that performance and his previous course fourth, it’s no coincidence his best two efforts have come since the combination of cheekpieces and a tongue-tie have been sported and with his high draw and soft ground seen as two positives towards his chance, the case for him hitting the frame at the very least is a watertight one.

BLUES EMPEROR (NAP) (best price 3/1) created a favourable impression when getting off the mark at the third time of asking at Listowel last time out and with an opening mark of 83 seen as an assessment he’s more than capable of exploiting, Johnny Murtagh’s gelding rates a strong contender on handicap debut. 

Third in a 16-strong field on his return to action after a 278-day break, the newly-gelded son of Gleneagles was sent to the Co Kerry venue with a full backing of market support behind him and, in what turned out to be a decent contest of its kind – certainly based on the figures – he duly came out on top.

Showing a decent turn of foot and a tenacious attitude in equal measures to get the better of the well-fancied Boher Road, the flashy chestnut posted some useful backend sectionals to match his smart overall time figure and with the runner-up going on to advertise the form next time, his opening assessment looks more than fair.

Half-brother to the prolific Geological, he has a long way to go to match his family member’s legendary exploits, but with today’s conditions and extra yardage unlikely to bother him one jot, a second career victory isn’t out of the question.

MAN O WORK (best price 3/1) is better known for his exploits over hurdles, so there has to be a certain element of risk/guesswork attached to today’s assignment, but at the same time, he does have enough quality about him to be a major factor in a race of this nature and a chance is taken on Pat Fahey’s gelding being equal to the task. 

Not quite good enough for the very best Grade 1 juveniles last season, the son of Workforce did, however, run with great credit when in his own lane and that trend continued with an excellent return to action at Listowel recently.

Well-backed to land a competitive-looking renewal of the Lartigue Hurdle at the Co Kerry venue, the four-year-old was never positioned to put up in a meaningful challenge to all-the-way winner Prairie Dancer, but he did put in enough sterling late work off the home turn (on the slowest part of the track) to warrant him being an interesting proposition going forward.

Likely to prove much better than his current hurdles mark of 129 when he does return to the winter game, today’s race is viewed as a decent opportunity for him to keep the pot boiling until he does.