Horse racing tips: Monday picks and pointers for Killarney

Tom Thurgood of racingtv.com hopes three runners can go close in each of the three handicaps on the opening day of the July Festival at Killarney. Enjoy all of the action this week live on Racing TV.

The topic of field sizes is never one that lies dormant for long in our sport while Mondays can serve up some of the more uncompelling fare over the course of a typical week, yet the £30,000 Ayr Gold Cup trial is one of five course handicaps with a double-figure field north of the border tomorrow and the same applies to all three handicaps at Killarney.

I’m keeping to Ireland for Monday's trio, and the track universally acknowledged as one of the most picturesque around would look even more so to these eyes if one of the below was to kindly oblige on day one of a busy week in Co. Kerry.

6.20 Killarney: Fleetfootsoldier

I thought there were a few contenders of interest here but this lightly-raced gelding gets the verdict as one of the few with genuinely more to offer in this three-year-old only handicap.

Fleetfootsoldier has two wins and a second from three handicap starts this season and his two runs at Dundalk earlier in the campaign have worked out pretty well for the grade, while he put up a career-best at Bellewstown last time on his first run on turf.

Connections suspected that Fleetfootsoldier might solely prove an all-weather performer and it’s true that his dam went best on synthetics, yet he looked more than fine on the grass last time and the Footstepsinthesand gelding rates as unexposed on turf while the forecast yielding ground is the same as for his Bellewstown win.

Fleetfootsoldier got a good set-up there with a decent pace in front of him and his stamina kicked in to decisive effect late on, but while he’ll surely prove effective at 10 furlongs in time he could feasibly be asked to press forward from his good draw in stall 1 (broke well at Bellewstown) and go the shortest way around and get some of these on the stetch before the turn in.

Either way, he should have more to offer given that last run was his first on the track for 104 days and this fairly quick turnaround suggests he has come out of that well.

Another reason for optimism for more progress is the current form of the yard. Kevin Coleman’s runners were hitting the frame 14% of the time until the end of May on the Flat in Ireland, but that reads around 38% since the start of June and the trainer has sent out three winners from 12 runners so far this month and with a place strike-rate of 50%.

6.50 Killarney: Kodiac Prince

I would fancy Joe Masseria here if the ground was genuinely soft, yet the likeable Kodiac Prince shaped as if he’s still in good order last time and is capable of a bold bid back down in trip at a track where he’s gone well twice before.

A real improver this season, he started his winning sequence at Gowran four weeks ago and, while definitely in the right place on the front end at the Curragh next time, he won well at the Irish Derby Festival on that penultimate run before finishing third at Roscommon last time.

Kodiac Prince swung into the straight looking to win there but Rory Cleary arguably pressed the button a bit too soon and he was swamped at the line after the uphill climb to the finish by two patiently-ridden rivals who challenged from much further back.

This will be his fourth run in the last four weeks, but he’s a hardy six-year-old with plenty of career runs and he’s clearly showing decent signs at home to warrant another quick outing. Provided he gets some pace to aim at, he can go close back down at a mile once again.

Fernao makes the market here and connections think this well-bred Frankel colt will prove a nice one in time, but trainer Willie McCreery has stated his charge is mentially immature and it’s notable he was ridden all the way to the line last time despite breaking his maiden at Listowel by eight lengths. This handicap will be a new experience and the yard doesn’t have a great record with handicap debutants, so we’ll try and take him on here in a race with an each-way shape.

8.20 Killarney: Laudable

It's not everyone’s idea of fun, but these somewhat low-grade affairs with lots of lightly-raced runners in handicaps are quite compelling to me and Laudable makes some appeal at big early prices going up in trip for a yard that genuinely targets horses at this track.

Handicaps were always the plan for this Havana Gold gelding after three runs in less than three weeks last back-end and he shaped OK on handicap and seasonal debut at Limerick last time, travelling fairly well from an inside draw but not really having anywhere to go after dropping back and not getting any room to genuinely progress up the rail. He petered out in the closing stages, but going up in trip now and at this track – which has feasibly been in mind as early as the Limerick run – could augur better now and I wouldn’t want to lay the big early quotes.

John Joseph Murphy has an excellent record at Killarney since 2010 (13.7%, +£105.75, 1.42 A/E) and that reads better still in handicaps (17.9%, +£137.25, 1.56 A/E), while the first-time cheekpieces on Laudable here are another positive given the yard has a good record with such runners (9.6%, +£46, 1.1 A/E). Dappled Light won at the last Killarney meeting in first-time cheekpieces.

Apprentice Scott McCullagh claims 3lb here and, while it’s early days, the rider does have good course statistics from a solid if unremarkable overall record so far. McCullagh has only had 13 rides at the track but has won twice on the likeable Charterhouse (trained by Murphy) and has finished in the places seven times in total. Clearly more evidence is required, but there is a chance his claim could be decent value around here and you don't mind paying to find out at the early advertised prices.