Thursday Racing Tips from Andy Holding

A potentially informative affair with several big reputations on show – Maximilian being the main focus – but whether he deserves to be quite so short on the betting is open to debate and of those who make much more appeal at bigger odds, DENSWORTH (best price 15/2) is worth a small interest on his hurdling debut.

A total blowout on his debut in a bumper at Uttoxeter, Ben Pauling’s gelding underwent surgery in order to correct the wind issue which occurred during the race and along with being fitted with a tongue-tie, the combination of the two alterations made a massive difference to his game next time out. Rather than fading meekly as he had six months before, this time the son of Kayf Tara was super strong in the latter stages of a well-run affair at Worcester and considering he still looked to be incredibly green in thrashing the well-regarded Justmyimagination by ten lengths, his performance had to go down as quite an impressive one.

A substantially built five-year-old who should appreciate today’s extra half a mile, he hails from a trainer who has a 26% strike rate at this stiff track, so even though he clearly faces a fairly stiff task on his first start over hurdles, there’s every reason to feel confident of a bold display.

Sir Winston looks sure to be a popular choice given his sexy profile, but there are two at much bigger odds lurking as potential party poopers, namely VISIBILITY (best price 12/1) and MINWAH (best price 16/1).

The former is probably better known for his exploits over further than today’s trip, but given how keen he was over the extended 1m1f here last time, it’s easy to see why connections are taking a different approach. Despite him expending quite a bit of energy in that competitive affair 10 days ago, he still managed to run a big speed figure and with some of his performances over seven furlongs not reading too bad in the context of today’s assignment, he looks way overpriced considering he’s one of the few course winners in the field.

The latter also had a difficulty settling here last time but at the same time, it didn’t stop here running a decent race in a very strong handicap for the grade. Despite her early antics she still kept on well in the closing stages to finish a creditable fourth and it’s a level of form, if repeated, that should see her go much closer than her morning odds suggest.

FENNEY BROOK (best price 2/1) returned to action in pleasing fashion with a convincing success at Hexham recently and with today’s step up in trip seen as a positive, Henry Daly’s mare is fancied to strike for the second time at the Shropshire venue.

A winner here back in May, the daughter of Sulamani was a bit in and out in her final three outings of the campaign, but after a regathering of thoughts and an 80-day break, she came roaring back to form at the Borders track last month. Tracking the solid fractions set by Lone Star 20 days ago, she eventually wore down her prey after jumping the last and in doing so, she ended up posting the best set of figures of the four races on the hurdles course. On the evidence of that improved display, she still appears on a handy mark and with today’s race looking the ideal fit for this six-year-old mare, she can send the locals away happy.

REVOQUABLE (NAP) (best price 9/4) sprung a bit of surprise when scoring at 40-1 here last time out, but with the time figure suggesting there was no fluke about the performance, Tim Easterby’s gelding receives a strong vote of confidence to repeat the dose.

Drawn in stall five, the son of Pastoral Pursuits soon found himself on the outside of the pack with no cover, but despite this tactic normally resulting in disaster, quite the opposite occurred as he strode majestically clear of his rivals in the home straight. Interestingly, the horse that raced alongside him down the back straight ended up dropping out the back of the TV, which strongly suggests he’s a good bit better than his current mark and with the numbers he posted for the grade also edging along the same lines, the three-year-old can take advantage of still being eligible for Class 6 races.

LEQUINTO (best price 6/1) failed to get the rub of the green in the viciously-competitive Portland Handicap at Doncaster last time out, but he showed enough to suggest he still remains in reasonable shape and now returning to a track where his form figures read 211512, Tony Carroll’s gelding can rebound back in the right direction.

Twice a winner on turf this season, the son of Requinto worked himself into a position where he organically moved into a class 2 grade and although his form figures suggest otherwise, he actually ran much better than his finishing position indicated each time. Indeed, his latest exploits on Town Moor resulted in him seeing absolutely no daylight whatsoever inside the final two furlongs and given how well he finished off his race, there’s a decent chance he would have been competitive with a clear run. Just as effective over sprinting trips than he was between 7f to a mile previously, the five-year-old should have every chance of going close providing he doesn’t endure a nightmare passage around the inside.