Monday Horse Racing Tips from Andy Holding

Pyffo sets a good standard here with an assessment of 121 but LOCKEN LADY (best price 13-2) ran a similarly rated horse of Harry Derham’s close at Huntingdon last time out and she has the potential to provide favourite backers with another uncomfortable watch. 

Although her form heading into the Cambridgeshire venue was respectable, she had no right to run as well as she did 18 days ago and if it wasn’t for getting in tight at the last hurdle, she may have offered up even more resistance to a mare going places. 

Clearly just as home on a decent surface that what she’d previously encountered, being a former point winner, she should be suited by today’s extra half a mile and she makes plenty of appeal as a solid each-way alternative to the favourite. 

DICEY RILEY (best price 7-1), as her odds suggested, struggled to cope with genuine graded horses at Perth last time out, but at least her effort served the purpose of blowing away the cobwebs after a 268-day break and she can prove more effective back at a more realistic level with that all-important run under her belt. 

Even allowing for the fact she was outclassed at the Scottish track; soft ground was always likely to prove a hinderance and she is much better judged on some of her performances during last season’s summer jumping period under both disciplines. 

Equally effective over fences as over hurdles, her best set of figures came when she overcame jumping to her right to land a competitive mares’ handicap chase last July and a repeat of something similar should see her easily outrun her morning odds.

MONO RIVER (NAP) (best price 11-4) left behind him an inauspicious debut effort at Doncaster with an altogether more encouraging display at Yarmouth last time out and with the general feeling the horse who beat him at the seaside track could turn out to be half decent, William Haggas’ gelding is fancied to go one place better. 

Seemingly unable to cope with the soft ground at the Yorkshire venue on his opening bow, connections were hoping a better surface and a drop down in trip might bring about some improvement and, as it proved, he performed to a much higher level. 

Taking a while to switch off towards the rear of the field through the early exchanges, the son of Zarak was still someway off the pace with two to run but once out in the clear and allowed to stride on in the later stages, he picked up in taking fashion to finish a never-nearer second. 

Related to Queen Of Bermuda, six furlong Group 3 winner for the same yard, it makes perfect sense to stay over the same trip for the foreseeable future and providing he settles in the early part of the contest, he should easily have the legs of fairly modest-looking bunch of maidens. 

ASH TREE MEADOW (best price 9-2) can be excused a slightly below par display last time out as he was trying to match motors with some of the best Grade 1 chasers in Ireland and now over a trip more in-keeping with his overall profile, Gordon Elliott’s gelding can settle back down to a level where he should be more competitive. 

Still in touch with the main players at the Kildare venue turning for home having coped with the blistering pace from the outset, a bad mistake two out totally cooked his goose and from that point, he was eased right down when all chance had gone. 

Seen to much better effect when allowed to dominate a field of lesser significance class-wise at Navan previously, the far less frantic nature and rhythm of a 2m4f chase clearly played more into his strengths and having scored on his only previous outing to tonight’s track this time last year, a return to the sharp, picturesque circuit should see him put up another bold show.