HOLLO Ladies is a bullish selection for the Bet Tote Direct At Star Sports Beginners’ Chase at Southwell.
Ferdy Murphy’s new recruit was a Grade One winner for Noel Meade and has admittedly taken a little while to warm to his task over fences.
He shaped promisingly behind Smuglin at Market Rasen, however, before again finishing second to the more-than-useful Dan Breen at Bangor.
Both of those efforts suggested for all the world that he would be in his element over farther, with this extended three-mile challenge seemingly made to measure.
Suitably geed-up by a profitable spin in a Southwell all-weather bumper at the end of December, Hollo Ladies remains one of the more exciting chasers from West Witton.
Flaming Breeze’s aspirations will no doubt be much lower, but that should not detract his followers in the Betfair Conditional Jockeys’ Training Series Handicap Hurdle.
Although still winless from six starts over timber, Harry Hogarth’s six-year-old hinted at a flicker of ability at Carlisle when staying on stoutly for second.
He may have been completely tapped for toe by the winner that day, but Flaming Breeze is now feeling the benefits of a sizeable helping hand from the assessor.
In what looks a winnable encounter, Hogarth’s gelding could emerge.
Piscean should not yet be discounted upon his return to Kempton.
Tom Keddy’s sprinter has this winter been in exemplary form, winning three times from five starts. That record can be galvanised when he takes a discernible dip in class for the Mobile Betting - Visit williamhill.com Conditions Stakes over six furlongs.
The Stravinsky gelding looked as well as ever at Lingfield last time when, held up within a group of three, he came with an electric run inside the final furlong.
Sadly for connections, Shane Kelly perhaps overplayed the waiting tactics and would certainly have finished closer to the winner, Edinburgh Knight, with a more incisive manoeuvre early on.
He significantly links up this time with allweather maestro George Baker, who is twice a winner aboard the six-year-old.
In any event, there are more races to be won with Piscean, whose consistency is matched only by his love of competing on Polytrack.
Investment World looks banker material in the Dry Hill Handicap at Lingfield.
Having started his racing career at a humble grade, Mark Johnston’s three-yearold shaped a lot better on his handicap debut at Southwell.
Racing from 5lb out of the handicap, the Akbar colt overcame plenty of traffic problems to finish a head adrift of Fearless Poet.
Although he is up 4lb for that effort, Investment World is certainly up to landing a race of this nature, and seemingly thrives over a mile.
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