Andy Holding is back with three tips for today's action.
14:10 Southwell
INEXPLICABLE (best price 10-3) ended a bit of a frustrating run for Anthony Brittain at Wolverhampton last time out and back at a track where he’d shown his first sign of a revival the time before, the veteran of 56 all-weather races) only run three times on turf) looks booked to put up another bold show.
The seven-year-old tends to flit between here and the Dunstall Park circuit and following a promising third behind in-form Twistaline over today’s C&D after a 74-day break, he backed up that effort with a smooth victory back at arguably his favourite venue a week later.
As he proved again nine days ago, he’s very much at his best when coming through having been held up off a decent pace and proving today’s tempo is sufficiently even enough for him to perform somewhere close to his best, the evergreen grey can record victory number ten.
14:50 Gowran
DUNBOYNE (best price 6-1) was narrowly denied by Carefully Selected in this race last year and with connections clearly keen on keeping him as fresh as possible in his bid to go one place better, Gordon Elliott’s inmate can add his name to the likes of Coko Beach and Monbeg Notorious from the same yard.
Sent off 25-1 here twelve months ago, the son of Yeats always looked like he was going to bely those odds the way he jumped and travelled during the three-mile journey, and it was only on the bob of a head that he ended up coming out second best. Having landed a novice chase at the Co Kilkenny venue earlier in the same season, it’s clear he likes the undulations of the track layout and arriving here on the back of a solid effort in the Troytown at Navan back in November, his preparations couldn’t have gone any smoother.
15:00 Wetherby
Fortunate Man crested a favourable impression when scoring with plenty of swagger at Newbury last time out but in the shape of ASTA LA PASTA (NAP) (best price 13-8), he faces a rival who sets a reasonable standard and Dan Skelton’s gelding is fancied to make his experience count.
Highly regraded by connections, the son of Walk In The Park has taken a little while longer than anticipated to finally establish himself over hurdles but his victory at Market Rasen last time out went along way to cement his promise. Setting off at a decent clip at the Lincolnshire venue, the six-year-old got into a lovely rhythm up front and once kicking for home coming out of the back straight, he proved too hot for his nearest pursuers to handle.
Clocking a smart time figure 30 days ago, there’s a strong possibility he will be asked to replicate similar forceful tactics once again and having handled more testing conditions well at Sandown previously (held up on that occasion), confidence is high he will prove a tough nut to crack.
