Andy Holding is back with two tips from today's horse racing action, including a NAP at Warwick.
15:35 Warwick
Connections of SAINT SEGAL (NAP) (best price 13/8) would have been slightly frustrated that their star young chaser didn’t make the cut for the Grand Annual at the Cheltenham festival but with that turn of events probably a blessing in disguise given the overall record of five-year-olds in that two-mile handicap, Jane Williams’ inmate can gain some sort of compensation in these less choppy waters.
A useful juvenile hurdler, the son of Saint Des Saints, however, has taken to his game to a whole new level since being sent over fences and his latest performance in a viciously competitive Class 2 handicap at Doncaster back in January proved unequivocally he belongs on the big stage.
After losing his place on the run for home, the five-year-old impressed with the way he knuckled down to the task at hand in the final half a mile and he would have only needed a few more strides to carry away the 26k prize.
Clearly better than his current rating based on that sterling effort on Town Moor, both of his previous victories over fences have also suggested he’s a fair operator in the making and with today’s gallop likely to be a decent one courtesy of Rouge Vif and Grandeur D’Ame in the field, the race should set up nicely for a horse who is a strong stayer at the trip.
15:42 Naas
DRAGON’S PASS (best price 7/1) can hardly be described as prolific, but she does go well on a stiff, left-handed track and arriving here following one of her better runs of late, a repeat of something similar should be good enough to see her in the shake-up again.
A winner at Fairyhouse under testing conditions at Fairyhouse back in January off a 293-day break, Denise Foster’s mare failed to repeat the same level of form on a quicker terrain on her next two starts, but back on soft ground over today’s C&D last time, she was more like her old self.
Arriving at the second last with every chance, it was soon clear it was going to boil down to a battle between herself and Wee Charlie and although she ultimately came out second best, she lost very little in defeat.
Arguably slightly better over further than two miles, she will probably require a decent gallop to bring her stamina into play, but providing that turns out to be the case, the daughter of Dragon Pulse is strongly fancied to make the frame at the very least.
