Flat racing is back at Sandown for Friday before it hosts the closing card of the jumps season on Saturday, and unfortunately the weather is threatening the party.
There will be juice in the ground – potentially quite a lot – and that’s going to have a big impact on the betting markets as we seek those who go with cut in the ground.
I like to look for race fitness too at this time of the season and the favourite Addeybb ticks both those boxes – but do we really want to be backing a handicapper who hasn’t won a Group race at 13/8?
He looks like a Group horse but I’m much sweeter on the claims of STORMY ANTARCTIC, a mudlark who thrives this time of year and can boast some very useful form at this level.
Ed Walker’s gelding has improved since having the snip last season, winning earlier this month in France and having previously looked a classy three-year-old when winning the Craven Stakes in style.
He ticks all the boxes too but is several times the price at 6/1, so I reckon that’s well worth a bet.
If you are a regular of these pages you will understand how furious I’ll be if this is the time Robin Of Navan finally gets his nose in front, but I’ve had my fingers burned too many times now to give him another chance despite the rain, trip and match fitness seemingly all in his favour.
1pt win Stormy Antarctic @6/1, 15:35 Sandown, Friday (various)
Earlier on the card I can’t get away from the claims of Martyn Meade’s CHILEAN for similar reasons.
He’s a winner in France on soft ground already this season and enjoyed an excellent two-year-old campaign, which did however end in disappointment in a hot renewal of the Racing Post Trophy.
Meade is convinced he wasn’t himself that day and, if we put a line through that, he has every chance of landing this.
The other one I like in this race is a stablemate of Stormy Antarctic, and that’s STEPHENSONS ROCKET whose juvenile form was franked this week by Crossed Baton winning Epsom’s Derby trial.
This is another Derby trial in itself and Stephensons Rocket is entered for Epsom, as well as the Dante Stakes at York, while Ed Walker has really talked up his chances as a Classic contender.
I’m a little concerned that Walker has threatened to pull him out of this race if there’s a lot of rain, which looks likely, however with this not being an ante-post market we would see our stake returned should that happen.
I can’t let him go unbacked.
1pt win Chilean @10/3, 15:00 Sandown, Friday (various)
0.5pts each-way Stephensons Rocket @11/1, 15:00 Sandown, Friday (Bet365)