Wednesday Racing Tips from Andy Holding

SOLO SAXOPHONE (best price 7/1) failed to cut much ice on the Flat last time out but, as it was his first outing for 200 days, he is entitled to come on sufficiently enough for the run to warrant being more of a viable proposition here this afternoon. 

Sent off one of the outsiders in a competitive Class 3 handicap at Newmarket, Alex Hales’ nine-year-old was still in with some sort of chance going passed the two-furlong pole, but it was that point where lack of match practice kicked in and he eventually faded out of the picture to finish last of the nine-strong field.

Like his performance in the Chester Cup the previous year, he went on to pick himself off the floor to go on and score with some ease over today’s C&D and added to his tally when duplicating those endeavours with an even silkier victory on his return visit a month later.

Interestingly, the feature of those two displays was the fitting of the blinkers and with the same headgear introduced back into play on his return to the Midland venue, he might have a better chance of keeping his unbeaten record at the track intact than his morning odds imply.

LADY ONYX (best price 3/1) is the least experienced of today’s field, but she has shown more than enough in both her two starts to date to suggest she is up for winning a race of this nature and she deserves to be played accordingly. 

Impressing in all departments when making a successful start to her career at Gowran a month ago, Johnny Murtagh’s filly was significantly upped in grade for her latest encounter at Musselburgh and, although it was an effort that did not end in victory, she acquitted herself with a huge amount of credit.

Under totally contrasting conditions to what she had faced on debut, the daughter of Kodi Bear kept on extremely well in the closing stages of a well-run listed affair and with that baptism of fire likely to have taught her many important lessons, she should have enough knowhow to make an even bigger impact in this similar event.

These sprint handicaps over in Ireland are enough to send even the most level tempered soul to the psychiatrist couch but should SILVER NEMO (best price 10/1) consent to put his best foot forward, he might just prove to be the answer to a tricky puzzle. 

More renown for his exploits on the all-weather, a surface on which his two career wins have taken place, Lee Smyth’s grey, however, showed much improved form on his latest start on grass in a 19-strong handicap field at Navan last time out and off the back of that run, there is no reason why he would not play a prominent role in this similar event today.

Towards the rear at the halfway stage at the Co Meath venue, the five-year-old began to scythe his way through the pack inside the final two furlongs and if it was not for meeting traffic issues from that juncture, he might have improved upon his fourth-place finish. 

A little bit of a hostage to fortune character, he will clearly need the breaks at the right time again this evening but providing they do materialise, he has a solid place claims at the very least.

NELDA (NAP) (best price 2/1) caught the eye in a major way in her introductory performance at Listowel earlier this month and now racing on a more conventional track, Jessica Harrington’s filly is fancied to go one place better. 

For any horse, making its debut around the tight contours at the Kerry venue is tricky enough, but for a two-year-old, the challenges are magnified ten-fold. The fact the daughter of Dark Angel almost overcame being slowly away and traffic problems in the home straight is testimony to her raw ability and when you also consider the time figure of the race 24 days ago, her effort deserves even more praise. 

Although she shaped like she might do better over further that day, she is not short of speed either and with today’s stiff six-furlongs likely to be a sufficient test for the time being, a clean getaway this time should initiate maximum rewards.

A tricky listed race to solve due to the unexposed nature of some of the field and of those who fit into that category, MAXUX (best price 7/2) and SNOWCAPPED (best price 20/1) rate the two with the most potential. 

The former was relatively easy to back in a maiden at Gowran dominated in the market by Sandy Creek but, despite being allowed to go off at 12-1, she ended up winning in the style of a very useful filly.

Settling nicely in midfield, the daughter of Frankel worked herself into a challenging position turning for home and then with a turn of foot that took everyone by surprise, she quickened right away from her rivals in the closing stages. Running an overall time figure and backends splits only slightly below the numbers posted by stable companion Trustyourinstincts - who looks a pattern race colt in the making - she signalled she could easily be capable of adding black type next to her name and with connections clearly holding out similar beliefs, this promising chestnut can back up that view on just her second start.

The latter has a bit to find to be competitive at this level according to the official ratings, but on the evidence of her most recent effort at The Curragh, her assessment of 87 could well turn out to be a bit of a red herring.

Bidding for a hat trick of wins at the Co Kildare venue, Jessica Harrington’s filly found herself in an uncompromising position at the halfway stage and although she did her level best to rectify the situation inside the final two furlongs, she was always fighting a losing battle.

That said, the way she kept on down the unfavoured centre of the track strongly suggested she might be worth considering over trips beyond a mile and with those very measures immediately taken by connections, the daughter of Churchill can easily outrun her morning odds in her bid for black type.