DAILY RACING PREVIEW BY ANDY HOLDING
MONDAY DECEMEBR 30
3.45 HAYDOCK
THE GRAFTER (best price 4-1) is still a bundle of energy even after five career starts but he has shown enough ability to win races and today might be his best chance of making that all important breakthrough success.
Picking up the running halfway down the back straight at the Midland venue after again being keen in the early stages, Sam England’s inmate swung for home still travelling well but while most of the main players stayed towards the favoured nearside, his pilot for some reason sent his mount down the inside on the poached, swamp-like ground.
Ultimately, that decision cost the son of Workforce the race but at the same time, he impressed with the way he stuck valiantly to the task to finish a creditable second and with today’s track and likely strong gallop set by For Pleasure sure to suit, he can put himself in a position where he can win at the very least.
THE GRAFTER – 1-point win@4-1
7.00 WOLVERHAMPTON
COACHELLO (best price 7-1) may not have hit the heights current connections were hoping he’d achieve, but he has now dropped down to a level where he should be able to make some sort of impact, and he is worth chancing on his first run at the track.
Brought by current connections off Gordon Elliott with a view to being a ‘Saturday’ horse, as a result, the six-year-old has been set some stern tasks in heritage handicaps such as the Wokingham and Ayr Gold Cup respectively and although he failed to cut much ice in each race, at the same time he was far from disgraced.
Unsuited by heavy ground at Goodwood when last seen in October, it’s worth noting some of his better efforts in the past came on the all-weather, including a victory at Newcastle off a mark of 104, and having now dropped down to a rating of 92, he finds himself in a class 3 event for the first time in ages with a golden chance to be competitive on a surface that should suit.
COEACHELLO – ½ point each-way@7-1
7.30 WOLVERHAMPTON
CIOTOG (best price 6-1) has been in good form for quite some time now and following another solid effort over tonight’s C&D a month ago, Mark Loughnane’s inmate can maintain the decent series of results back at his local track.
Held up towards the rear in his usual fashion 45 days ago, the six-year-old hit a bit of a flat spot as the pace finally increased coming out of the back straight but he came home to good effect in the latter stages and, hitting the line strong, he left the impression he may have won with a more honest gallop.
Despite only one win to his name at the Midland venue, his overall record suggests he is reliable and with quite a few front runners in the line-up likely to ensure a decent tempo, the son of Dandy Man should have the perfect set-up in his bid to go one place better.
CIOTOG – 1-point each-way@6-1