Sandown Saturday tips – Copybet
Sandown stages one of its primary jumps meetings of the season on Saturday, with a pair of Grade 1 chases, including the Tingle Creek, featuring on a high-class seven-race card.
The action gets underway with a Listed novices’ hurdle and the quality continues right through the meeting, with the London National over an extended 3m4f bringing the curtain down on proceedings.
We’ve highlighted the chances of three horses on the card and have provided a NAP, a next best and a long shot for you.
Sober Glory – Sandown
Philip Hobbs and Johnson White have a number of exciting young horses in their care at present, none more so than SOBER GLORY, who is taken to maintain his unbeaten record.
The five-year-old looked a good prospect when accounting for the Dan Skelton-trained 126-rated Great Fleet in an Irish point in May last year and he was subsequently purchased by Brocade Racing for £110,000.
He’s still got some way to go to repay that price tag, but he’s done everything that’s been asked of him and achieved the rare feat of winning three bumpers, the last of those coming in Listed company at Newbury in February.
He bypassed both the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals, but returned to the track with a bang at Chestow last month, cruising to a debut hurdling success under Ben Jones and running to a Racing Post Rating of 133 in the process.
That’s comfortably the best form on offer and he’s going to be tough to beat with improvement anticipated.
Chasing Fire – Sandown
Olly Murphy has a number of strong chances on the card, including with CHASING FIRE, who ran an excellent race in defeat when last seen.
The eight-year-old is relatively lightly raced for his age and has a fine strike rate, winning seven times from only 18 starts under rules on ground ranging from soft to good.
Successful on his reappearance off a mark of 131 at Perth in September, he emerged with plenty of credit after a 5lb rise at Aintree last month, finishing second behind Nicky Henderson’s Impose Toi, who has since followed up in the Grade 2 Long Distance Hurdle at Ascot.
That’s clearly very strong form and he’s surely going to make his presence felt off the same mark, the gelding having won on his only previous start at this track.
Go Dante – Sandown
Sean Bowen has enjoyed another fantastic week and his winning spree may well continue courtesy of the Olly Murphy-trained GO DANTE in this competitive 2m handicap hurdle.
The nine-year-old didn’t pull up any trees on his seasonal return at Bangor last month, struggling at an early stage and coming home well adrift, but that was his first start since the spring and he’s entitled to strip a lot fitter on Saturday.
The selection has an excellent record at Sandown, winning both outings there with those successes coming in the last two runnings of the Imperial Cup, which is run over course and distance in March.
He’s only 3lb above the most recent of those and represents good each-way value in this 11-runner event.