Thursday Horse Racing Tips from Andy Holding

ORTELIUS (NAP) (best price 2/1) did quite a bit wrong on debut yet still managed to put in a performance of some promise and providing he exits the stalls a little more purposefully second time around, Aidan O’Brien’s inmate can make the journey over the Irish Sea a worthwhile exercise.

Supposedly the second string of the two Ballydoyle runners at the Co Kildare venue according to the market, his 5-1 odds ballooned significantly as the son of Justify fell out of the gates and was left floundering at the rear through the early exchanges and by halfway, he was still languishing in the cheap seats.

Despite rowing against the tide down the outside, to his great credit he managed to still work himself into a challenging position at the two-furlong pole and running hard all the way to the line, he only found one too good as he narrowly lost out in a bobbing finish.

Only managing to pay back a tiny portion of his 1.1m price tag, time may tell he might end up in credit before his career ends and with today’s contest seen as a must win if he is to get somewhere near pattern level next season and beyond, expectation is high for him to deliver the goods. Drawn furthest away from his main market rival, Wafei (stall 19), it will also be interesting to see how Ryan Moore goes about plotting a winning strategy from stall one.

ZABRISKIE POINT (best price 14/1) left the impression he won despite not really enjoying the testing conditions at Thirsk last time out and now back on a surface that saw him run extremely well in arguably the best nursery run so far this season, Charles Hills’ colt deserves more respect than the morning odds affords him.

Deservedly sent off odds-on at the Yorkshire venue after what took place on the Knavesmire, the only question he had to answer was whether he could handle the rain-softened ground and although he managed to pull through after a protracted dual with his main two market rivals, it was more down to his class and superior ability that anything else.

Looking back at his previous effort where he can be better judged, the likes of Starlust (won Group 3 since), Room Service, Ziggy’s Queen, Red Zone Hero and Mayo Neighs have all good on to boost the extraordinarily-good time figure of that race from the Ebor meeting and considering his fourth place position was achieved after his missed the break, his current rating of 93 probably doesn’t do him full justice.