You can always gamble, but be prepared to lose.

Award inventory is determined by formulas that predict the likelihood of selling a seat. They would much rather sell the seat than give it away.

I don't think anyone here on FT can GUARANTEE that if you release the seat, you will be able to immediately get it back for an extended hold time. You might be lucky, then again you might not. I suggest you look up current inventory on ExpertFlyer. If you see 7 seats in that bucket, then you are probably safe. If you see 0, then you are running a risk of the seat not coming back into the award bucket.