Greetings from England! I arrived safely at lunchtime on Wednesday and for once flew out of the rain into the sun. But through tired eyes after a mix of jet lag and a night out in Brighton I am here and ready for Sandown tomorrow. Of the 14 days I'm back, 5 of them will be spent at the races. First of all is tomorrow at Sandown which is one of my local courses and then of course the 4 days of Cheltenham next week. No prizes for guessing which I am more excited about, though tomorrow should be a good day nonetheless.
Last week was a poor week with only Toubab going in for us and everything afterwards disappointing. But hey at least we started off well. One last thing, I have started blogging for www.racingtips.com, you will be able to find my posts under blogs and some under Cheltenham Festival. But enough of that, lets get this week up and running with some Sandown selections.
1:30 Sandown Park - Fine Kingdom
A competitive first race today but an interesting one nonetheless with the Calculated Risk one time looking a live Triumph Hurdle hope. But there are plenty of nice types in behind including Brian Ellison's horse, Fine Kingdom, who is the selection. At present it is soft at Sandown and looking outside its hard to see the going ease or get worse for that matter. We should be dealing with a fairly testing day at Sandown which we know will suit fine Kingdom after his Catterick win. He won that pretty easily and as a result was raised 11 pounds for the success. That proved too much when taking on harder opponents on faster ground at Musselburgh, he was soundly beaten last time. For that he is dropped in trip and also takes on weaker opponents, but the return to two miles on this ground could well be in his favour. James Reveley is one from one aboard Fine Kingdom as well and doesn't always venture this far south. From 9 pounds higher than his Catterick win he should be more than capable of making his presence felt. (11/1)
2:05 Sandown Park - Whisper
Before the season started Whisper was held in very high regard throughout the Henderson yard, he justified then when winning at Ffos Las. The going was horrific that day but he came through the testing ground and won nicely after his bumper win. He then went to Cheltenham when proving out of his depth when taking on top novices behind At Fisher's Cross and The New One. Last time out he was back to his best however when romping home in the mud, once again at Ffos Las. Admittedly he wasn't taking on much that day but it was hardly anything more than a training gallop. He opens up his handicap career off a mark of 132 which looks fair on what he has done so far in his career. One last thing is that Barry Geraghty rides Close Touch, the other fancied Henderson runner. Whether that was by choice or not is anyone's opinion as Andrew Tinkler has ridden the selection 3 times and is 100% on board him. A strong selection in Whisper. (13/2)
2:40 Sandown Park - Soll
Not the first time he has been a selection on this blog and probably not the last time, He ran a very good race in the Hennessy behind Bobs Worth. Finishing 8th that day before running a below par race in the Welsh National at Chepstow. In truth He jumped well that day, a crucial skill to winning at Sandown, the going may have also been a bit too boggy for him as well. Saying that, he does enjoy the ground with a bit of cut in it and ground today will pose no problems to him at all. He is still a little bit unexposed despite being beaten twice this year and I have a suspicion we could well find out his talent today. The only Positive of his two runs this year is that he has been dropped 7 pounds to the same mark as Whisper of 132. With a bit of early money for him he could well be a nice price tonight and it would be no surprise to see him go off around 4/1. (7/1)
3:15 Sandown Park - Stormy Weather
Brian Ellison is no stranger to Handicaps and is rarely seen this far south, more often than not Stormy Weather will be one of his handicap runners. The grey has proved himself good enough on many occasions and once travelled well for a long way in the Fighting Fifth. He hasn't been seen for just over a year over hurdles, most recently he has been seen over fences to one success at Wetherby. He also managed a good third behind Yurok and Aland Islands also over Wetherby when not staying the trip. The return to two miles and a 6 pound lower hurdles rating will surely put him closer today and could well be worth a small each way investment at a very large price. (66/1)
4:25 Sandown Park - Ciceron
Venetia Williams' Gelding landed an almighty gamble at this track last year but is a hard horse to find right. Over fences he has been very consistent however, in all races he has completed over fences he hasn't finished outside the first three. The soft ground will pose no problems to him whatsoever and neither will the undulations of the course. He is a sound enough jumper so you'd imagine he will be fine in that department, only time will tell though. One thing is a certain though, Rebel Rebellion will go off a very short price causing Ciceron to be more of an attractive price. He will definitely be able to ruffle the feathers of the Paul Nicholls representative and many would hand him a good chance of beating him. (5/2)
5:00 Sandown Park - Arbeo
It has taken some time but finally Arbeo has come into himself in his last two runs with a very good win at Newbury followed by a victory at Huntingdon. His win at Newbury was particularly impressive, jumping wise he was foot perfect and was letting nothing past. By this time the ground could be a bit chewed up and testing so his win on heavy instills confidence for today. The Huntingdon race was against better competition but he managed to hold off an improving horse in Ballypatrick. He is upped 10 pounds for that win but this looks a weaker race for saying so and his upward curve looks ongoing here. With Sam Thomas in the saddle he looks a very solid bet to land the last today and leave us with Festival Fever brewing. (2/1)
NAP - Soll
Nb - Arbeo
There we have it, for our last Saturday before Cheltenham and another good day of racing at Sandown. Lets hope to line our pockets for next week and get this week off to a good start.
Happy Punting Guys
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