Saturday's Horse Racing Tips from Andy Holding

CHARYN (best price 11-4) and Knight are closely matched on their encounter in the Celebration Mile at Goodwood towards the backend of last season but using the theory Roger Varian’s inmate would have fared the better of the pair but for completely blowing the start, he is fancied to turn the tables on his old rival under ideal conditions. 

Looking back at that race at the Sussex venue, the four-year-old grey did extremely well just to give himself a chance of collecting at the furlong pole but eventually the laws of physics caught up with him trying to give top-class horses a five-length head start and he ultimately faded close home into third. 

Other than his below-par performance in last season’s 2000 Guineas, the son of Dark Angel has a whole boat load of top-class form against the very best milers either side of the Irish Sea (finished placed behind Paddington three times), and having a record of going well fresh in the past, he has plenty going for him in his quest to kick start his season in the best possible fashion. 

MAYSONG (best price 16-1) fared best of those drawn low in this race last season and with the strong possibility that Amy Murphy’s gelding would have had a return to Town Moor as the main plan for some time, he’s worth a small interest to see whether he can feature in this year’s renewal. 

Similar to how he arrived here twelve months ago, the seven-year-old has been kept ticking over on the all-weather during the winter and that all-important fitness angle helped him produce such an excellent effort in a competitive, 22-strong field. 

Placed on his last two runs at Chelmsford and Kempton respectively, the son of Mayson returns to a surface that has allowed him post some of his best numbers in the past and although there is a potential that stall 2 might prove to be a barrier he can’t knock down, his morning odds more than compensate for that slight impost. 

As you’d expect, a hugely competitive field assembled for this sought-after final of Mares’ series but there’s a school of thought to suggest CONDESA (best price 18-1) is massively overpriced based on her latest effort behind subsequent Grade 2 winner, Springtime Promise, and for that reason, she deserves to be played accordingly. 

Beaten decisively by one of today’s main players, El Elefante, at Perth back in September, Stuart Crawford’s mare was on something of a recovery mission at the Yorkshire track four months later and although she came up a little short on the day, she was the only one to offer any resistance to a classy mare who has gone on to achieved much greater things (winner now rated 134). 

Not only has the form worked out well since (third also won), the speed figure posted by the main players suggested it would do and with today’s drier conditions set to suit this lightly-raced eight-year-old, she looks set to run a bigger race than her morning odds imply.

BATTLE IT OUT (best price 4-1) appeared to relish the extra distance when capturing a competitive handicap chase at Naas last time out and with the strong possibility Conor O’Dwyer’s gelding will improve further for a step up to three miles, he can supplement those gains in this much weaker affair on paper.

A difficult one to assess in many ways prior to tackling his stiffest task to date at the Co Kildare venue, it soon became apparent he was going to be dangerous at the business end such was the way he travelled through the first portion of the well-run, 2m4f contest and once picking up the running jumping the last, he needed no second invitation to stride clear once in full cry on the run-in.

The feature of his effort 27 days ago was his numbers compared to the race won by Ferny Hollow on the same card (both ran the last circuit in 2.59.1) and when you consider the son of Flemensfirth was eased down in the closing stages, his performance becomes even more impressive.

A big improver once upped in distance over hurdles, history looks to be repeating itself over fences and even though the assessor has done his level best to try and intervene, the six-year-old may end up having the last laugh.