Saturday Horse Racing Tips from Andy Holding

A tricky one for punters with many arriving here following long layoffs, so the safest option might be to go with RISK AND ROLL (best price 14/1), who has confirmed fitness on his side.

Racing more over fences in recent times, James Evans’ inmate was up against many in-form performers in a trappy affair at Uttoxeter last time out but despite being one of the outsiders of the party, he defied his position in the market with a victory of some polish.

Although the winning margin ended up being less than it threatened to be half a mile from home when he sauntered to the front, he always left the impression he had matters in hand and having only gone up a tiny amount in the ratings as a result, the nine-year-old still looks to be on a competitive mark.

Just as good over hurdles, his ninth in last season’s Pertemps Final at the Cheltenham festival was a terrific display in the scheme of things and with connections no doubt eying up another bid again this term, a positive result here should at least get him qualified.

NED TANNER (NAP) (best price 11/4) left the impression he would seriously benefit from his most recent outing at Carlisle and now returning to a track where his form figures read 314141, Nick Alexander’s inmate can maintain those fine stats.

Relatively easy to back on his first run for 211 days due to the condition he was carrying in the parade ring beforehand, the son of Milan ended up running accordingly, but the fact he loomed up going extremely well two out before blowing up, is testimony to his raw ability.

Not knocked about on the run-in once his pilot accepted there would be tougher battles to fight further down the line, the seven-year-old unsurprisingly returns to a place where he has plenty of happy memories and hailing from a yard whose horses are starting to show an upturn in fortunes after a slow beginning, he rates a strong choice to continue that general trend.

MEDIA NARANJA (best price 9/1) ran about as well as could be expected up against two smart horses here yesterday and with connections clearly happy that all is well with Gordon Elliott’s mare 24 hours on, she can take high rank in this weaker affair.

Quite rightly sent off 20-1 up against the likes of Grade 1 performers Irish Point and Magical Zoe, not much was expected of the daughter of Yeats on her first run for 164 days but to everyone’s surprise, she was still bang in with a chance on what turned out to be a long run down to the last. Once the taps were really turned on, however, she palpably couldn’t match the big two in the market but at the same time, she didn’t completely fold and in keeping on well for third, she came out of the race with a huge amount of credit.

In some cases, it can be a mistake to overestimate horses who overachieve in those conditions’ races, but as there didn’t appear to be any fluke about the way she performed, she clearly ran way better than her current mark of 118 and for that reason, she must be of some interest back in ordinary handicap company.

HORACES PEARL (best price 4/1) created a favourable impression when accounting for some highly regraded types on debut over today’s C&D last season and with the form of that victory already looking better than it did at the time, Fergal O’Brien’s inmate is fancied to keep his unbeaten record intact.

Held up in last in just a five-strong field, the five-year-old settled nicely off the medium tempo set but once asked to engage and go through the gears at the business end, he found a ready turn of foot that his rivals were unable to match.

Scoring with seemingly plenty left in the tank, he made the runner-up, Kintail, look rather pedestrian and when you consider Nicky Henderson’s inmate has gone on to win impressively twice since, it puts into perspective the level of form he showed 209 days ago.

Retuning to the scene of that fine effort, he faces many from powerful stables who could turn out to be anything but with his experience of the track and knowing what to do off the bridle all valuable commodities, hopefully those important factors will prove decisive in the final analysis.

HOLKHAM BAY (best price 9/2) did well to win in the manner he did at Kempton last time considering he was plenty keen enough in the early stages and with the speed figure he posted speaking favourably of his performance, William Knight’s gelding can continue the fine recent run of his yard.

Never near to challenge on his previous outing at Lingfield, there was more than an air of uncertainty attached to his first try at the Sunbury track but as it turned out, he ended up thriving on the slower surface. Not only was the overall time figure very good 24 days ago, his backend split of 34.3 from three out was also very favourable compared to the rest of the card and now heading to a track that offers a similar terrain, hope is high the three-year-old can repeat the dose.