Find all previous Seymour Biz racing previews in his weekly column: Saturday Horse Racing Tips.
As usual as a prelude to the Cheltenham Festival next week Sandown holds its Imperial Cup meeting on Saturday and the card is as competitive as ever. ITV are showing four races from the Esher track backed up with three races from the all-weather at Wolverhampton but it’s the jumps meeting at Sandown that takes centre stage, and here are my thoughts for the four televised races and this week’s Lucky Fifteen.
The first race on ITV is the EBF Novices Handicap Hurdle Final at 1.50 where Paul Nicholls saddles one of the favourites and top weight Henri The Second who won here at Sandown in December. Since then, he has run second at Cheltenham. His weight may be an issue here.
Saturday Sandown Lucky Fifteen
1.50 Twin Power
2.25 Givega
3.00 Casa No Mento
3.35 Easy As That
Bet this lucky 15 now on Bet365
Nicholls also runs Hugos New Horse and Twin Power and it’s the latter that interests me most after he was only beaten a head by Gary Moore’s Inneston here last month. He is 4lbs better off and that should be enough to reverse those placings.
An outsider to keep an eye on is Sandy Thomson’s War Soldier who was a fine winner at Haydock in December and can be placed here at a nice price.
The big race of the day is at 2.25 the Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle where Gary Moore’s exciting hurdler Givega looks as if he will go off favourite. He has won three times this season and his only defeat was when he was pulled up in heavy going at Warwick in January.
Harry Skelton’s Playful Saint has won twice on heavy at Leicester and Wetherby and if the going comes up soft he will be there or thereabouts. Trainer Peter Fahey won this last year and he has Zoffany Bay in it this year, he was a fine second at Ascot last month and can be placed here.
There is an Irish raider Man O Work trained by PG Fahey but his form this season is not a patch on last year he may, however, spring a surprise.
Philip Hobbs’s Monviel won here at Sandown a year ago. He was a winner at Ascot in November and was a fine fifth in a Grade 3 at Newbury last month. He will go close but it’s Givega for me.
The 3.00 is the EBF Mare’s National Hunt Flat Race where Harry Fry’s Goodtimecrew is the current favourite after winning a lowly affair at Wincanton last month, more is required here. He beat Paul Nicholls’s Larchmount Lass that day and I see no reason why he shouldn’t confirm those placings.
Fergal O’Brien’s Dontyawantme won a small race at Huntingdon in January and can go well if he has improved on that.
I like Nigel Twiston-Davies’s Casa No Mento who won at Hereford in January by 12 lengths. Any improvement on that would see him take this.
There is a Novices Handicap Chase at 3.35 where Dan Skelton’s Lac De Constance has top weight. He won at Kempton in November but was a well-beaten second at Exeter last month.
Olly Murphy’s No Risk Des Flos has won twice this season but he is somewhat a Wetherby specialist and saves himself for that track.
Baron de Midleton won for Brian Ellison at Newcastle last month but he may fall prey to these younger horses. This could be an open goal for Venetia Williams’s Easy As That whose latest win was at Newcastle where he romped home by 10 lengths. He may do something similar here.
Saturday Sandown Lucky Fifteen
1.50 Twin Power
2.25 Givega
3.00 Casa No Mento
3.35 Easy As That
Bet this lucky 15 now on Bet365
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