Maybe start race, we hear, to provide pudding ingredient (4)
I believe the answer is:
sago
'pudding ingredient' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'maybe start race we hear' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'start' could be 'go' (synonyms) and 'go' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'sa' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'to provide' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sago that I've seen before include "Cereal, used in pudding" , "Powdery starchy food" , "Starchy pudding cereal" , "Powdery starch used in cooking" , "Starchy food as white pudding" .)