By Tony Calvin - 4 March 2026
The Boss Bear is a late NR here at 1.28pm.
The two opening Sandown handicaps on ITV are probably as hard as anything Cheltenham will throw at you next week.
Both are maximum field sizes (see below for money-back balloted out horses) and run on a track on which horses often go from hero to zero in the blink of an eye, travelling well only to find the square root of nada up the straight.
Oh, and Sandown had 10mm of rain, to add to the Tuesday-Thursday watering, so expect going changes on Saturday morning.
Tread carefully then, especially in this 18-runner EBF Final choc full of progressive 5 to 7yos ready to step forward to claim this 45k-to-the-winner pot.
Any bet I have in here will be minimal and probably win-only on the exchange, but I think Rathkenny and Race To Base are the most interesting of the outsiders (the former is currently trading at over twice his fixed-odds price of 22s for buttons).
Winning pointer Rathkenny has improved markedly since being stepped up to this trip, beating a fair sort in West Hill Verde at Doncaster and then finishing second to a similar improver in Harbour Island at Ffos Las last time.
A mark of 125 gives him a squeak.
The angle into Race To Base (his price came down from 33 to 16s on Thursday, and now just 14s best, so the ship may have sailed there) is the stable move to Nick Scholfield, making a big splash in his first season training, from the Twisters, with Harry Cobden jocked up and having his first start for his old Ditcheat mate.
Scholfield won with a former Twister inmate for the same owner with Itsinthename in a Catterick maiden hurdle last month and Race To Base doesn’t look to be on a bad mark on his Aintree third to Taurus Bay.
He steps up to 2m4f for the first time here (in a first-time tongue-tie – Itsinthename also wore one) and it could suit, as he won his sole point over 3m and there is stamina on the distaff side of the pedigree.
And actually he beat Rathkenny a short-head in that point, so the old rivals meet again here. I’ll throw a win-only few quid on him at 25s+ if I can.
This is minimal-stakes stuff, though.
Now, all-weather racing is not my bag, and I am not going to pretend otherwise, but I did have a good look at Wolverhampton’s three ITV races.
Honest guv.
Pace galore in this 6f handicap, with five of the 10 having made the running in recent starts and a couple of other prominent racers to boot, so it is clearly a tricky one to call from that perspective.
It is around even money that either Kullazain and Knebworth win this though at the current odds, and that may be fair enough.
I thought Cinque Verde, coming out of trap one, was fair enough at 12s and 11s. I appreciate we haven’t seen the horse since September but the booking of Oisin Murphy (who clearly made it back from Dubai in a more timely manner than most) suggests he could be ready to rock and roll after that absence.
And he won first time up in 2024 and 2025.
In addition, he has excellent course form (track form figures of 124511) and he is obviously well berthed, if he jumps well.
If you want a bet in the race, and I probably won’t, then he’d be the one I’d suggest, but it looks a devil of a race.
Tennessee Gold is a NR at 9.27am (bruised foot). No Rule 4.
In theory, this 18-runner Imperial Cup is even harder than the ITV opener, but for many the betting sun will rise and set with Mondo Man, a general [11/4] and [5/2] chance.
And you can obviously see it.
The one-time 111-rated Flat middle-distance horse finally got off the mark over hurdles at 7s-on by the small matter of 33 lengths at Plumpton last time but it is his earlier handicap form (and obviously his exploits on the level) that mark him down as highly dangerous here off 123.
He wasn’t far off sniffing the holes of the likes of Lulamba and Mambonumberfive last season, and Mossy Fen Road this, and he ran very well in the face of a pace bias when fourth in the uber-hot Ascot handicap won by Wilful in November, a race in which Hot Fuss and Alexei were second and third.
He was held up in a race dominated by the prominent racers that day, and I doubt if connections will make the same mistake here.
But I can let him go unbacked all day all long at the general odds. He may well relish Sandown but this track is an acquired taste for hurdlers, whatever the going.
The punted Brace For Landing (33s to 13/2) has got a run, unsurprisingly and controversially – see my comments below in a Friday morning piece, and you can definitely see him figuring here given the way he has shaped this season – but his price has plummeted and my shortlist now consists of Rubber Ball at 19, and No Ordinary Joe and Top Jimmy at 22s apiece (I favour the latter of the 22s duo).
Mind you, I am not in the least bit surprised that all the fancy prices about Top Jimmy’s stablemate Spirits Bay were taken on Thursday. The 66s and 50s is now a general 33s.
As the prices suggest, Rubber Ball is the most likely lad of that trio.
He bolted up in a good time at Newbury last week (he went way one in the market and ended up winning at 11/8) and, although an 8lb rise suggests he may have left the Imperial Cup there, I think he could go close here for a stable on fire at the moment.
Trainer Neil King admitted he had messed up with the horse this season (running him over 3m etc) and said after Newbury: “This week, I couldn’t see Rubber Ball being beaten. He’s in better form at home now, and we’ve tried various trips that have been wrong, so we wanted to bring him back.”
Rubber Ball beat Tutti Quanti over this trip at Newbury last season and could well give the favourite most to do if last week’s exertions and weight rise haven’t holed his chances below the waterline here.
He looks the best bet at 9s to me but they could all be fighting for second place to Mondo Man here, though.
Nardaran is a NR as at 7.33am (going). I doubt he will be the last. Gibbs Island (9.12am) and Ooh Betty (9.07am) and Mr McLoughlan (9.35am) have followed suit.
A very competitive field of 12 for this self-styled Lincoln Trial, just one shy of a maximum field – an ideal tee-up for that handicap in the possible Donny slop on March 28th – but I thought Kingdom Come was solid enough at a general 7s, with [15/2] in two places.
Certainly, the form of the Clive Cox stable, albeit from a small sample, would not put you off.
His last four runners have yielded winners at [15/8], [11/4] and 3s and a short-head second at [13/2].
Kingdom Come himself was one of those winners, and a 3lb rise for that Kempton win looks very fair. The runner-up was beaten a neck next time, and the third won on Thursday.
Furthermore, Kingdom Come won this race in 2024 (off a 2lb higher mark), was only beaten a length in it off a 4lb higher mark last year, and has course form figures of 213.
Yes, he looks solid enough each-way, all right.
I’ve backed him.
Bumpers are surely up there with Cross Country races in the NFI betting stakes, which is why having both contests on the Wednesday of Cheltenham is a bit dense. It’s effectively a five-race punting card, innit.
At least you tend to have a fair bit of form to go at in the cheese wedge nonsense, but in bumpers even more guesswork is required with lightly-raced and unexposed horses (12 of the 13 mares here are winners, mind you and the maiden isn’t out of this).
Some Time Bandits love these races, so I am happy to leave it to them.
It seems Burds Of A Feather and Western Charm could be interesting for the Clock Watchers, and they are priced at 4s and 11s respectively. The former did look a fair tool when making all by a wide margin at Warwick, and the 9/2 about her was taken this morning.
Orestina is a NR as at 8.10am (going), as is Joan’s Choice now (2.11pm). Burds Of A Feather came out late.
Cool Hoof Luke – I actually watched Cool Hand Luke earlier in the week – is a general 2s poke and you can see why. He is definitely the one to beat.
He obviously shaped well in third behind dead-heaters Completely Random and Diligent Harry (winner since) at Lingfield in late January and looks the class act here.
He rounded off his turf campaign with a win in the Gimcrack and I wouldn’t like to lay the 2s myself given his profile and class, for all he is drawn widest and this is actually quite a close-knit race on ratings. He is now a general [6/4].
Incidentally, one of the great lines in Cool Hand Luke is “sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand.”
Something some/most punters may have to console themselves with after doing their cods at Cheltenham next week…
Welcom To Cartries is a NR (2.07pm).
When decs-tracking on Thursday morning (see story below…) it appeared Calimystic was set to be sent for the 2m4f handicap chase on this card, and not this 3m contest.
But, with the stable having Akimos for the 2m4f handicap, it looks like they shuffled their pack.
It is probably something and nothing but perhaps it is something to consider if you fancy the general [7/2] favourite.
And plenty will after the horse saw off the well-backed Captain Bellamy over an extended 2m6f on his return at Newbury, with five lengths back to the third.
That suggests a 4lb rise could be well within his compass and he has plenty of upside, but this is a track that exposes any stamina chinks, so I’d probably fight shy myself, especially with that rain about.
He has now been backed into [5/2] and a general [9/4], too.
It’s not a race I will bet in.
——————–
As regards Cheltenham next week, it is important to pick your battles, and if you think you need an interest in all of the 28 races – looking at the Racing Post website and clocking the repetitive Preview circuit, and other tipping outlets, it is clear Safer Gambling Week is very much only one in 52 – then keep stakes manageable.
And that seems to be a sensible approach to take with Saturday’s ITV racing at Sandown and Wolverhampton, as you don’t want to blow your load too early (I suspect some tipsters have and have already run out of horses to side with…).
I’ll start with the Wolverhampton races, as I very much want to see if first reserve Brace For Landing gets a run in the Imperial Cup (there is a 1pm deadline today on that front).
It was fascinating tracking the decs yesterday morning – yes, I am a sad bastard – and how the Dan Skelton team played it.
They had three in the race (all different owners), and all were jocked up on the BHA site.
Brace For Landing (Harry Skelton) was confirmed early on but, strangely, Knickerbockerglory (Harry Atkins) and Faivoir (Heidi Palin) were not.
A waiting game was played, then.
Only when MrMcLoughlan was confirmed very late on by Jack Jones (around 9.58am) was Knickerbockerglory, who has excellent Sandown form, kept in the race, but strangely Faivoir, beaten a nose in this race in 2024, wasn’t.
That meant Brace For Landing was kept as first reserve , and it will be very interesting to see if a horse comes out today and he gets a run.
I suspect he will be very popular at 12s if he does.
Be sure to get your money back if he doesn’t get lucky with a NR.
Knickerbockerglory was a NR as at 12.45pm on account of the going, so I thought I’d add to the above (1pm update, Friday).
The hurdles course hasn’t changed from soft, good to soft, in places, since last Friday – so the BHA will presumably hand the trainer a fine – and conditions would seem to look perfect for Knickerbockerglory given his record with plenty of dig, albeit he was taken out because of unsuitable going in the Greatwood at Cheltenham in November (was similarly soft, according to the official description and Timeform).
I feel sorry for his ante-post backers who have done their money in cold blood (though we would be talking very little here) and, overall, this is not a good look at all.
That means stablemate Brace For Landing, backed from 33 to 10s since the final field was known (again it would have taken relative buttons), gets in as the first reserve.
And, as at 2.40pm, he is now a best-priced [13/2], which is coming under pressure, and as low as [9/2].
Not a good look at all x 2.
Oh, and it has just started to rain at Sandown. Not too much now ….
GOING – Chase: Soft, good to soft in places; Hurdles: Soft, heavy in places
GOING STICK – Chase: 4.2; Hurdles: 3.4, Saturday 7am
Rails: All rails on innermost configurations, with distances as advertised.
Saturday morning course update: 10mm rain Friday from noon to 9pm. Saturday expected to be dry and overcast – 12 degrees
Weather (yr.no latest), Dry Saturday
Watering: Given the dry and mild forecast for the rest of the week, selective watering in parts of the Back Straight of both courses commenced on Tuesday. 7.5mm applied. 5mm applied to same areas on Wednesday and Thursday. No further watering.
Low sun could result in obstacle omission at this fixture
The track was harrowed to a depth of 5” (Wednesday 4th March) and was re-instated with a gallop master finish. It is expected to ride close to standard.
Saturday morning course update: 1.4mm rain on Friday – dry since. Forecast: A cloudy but mainly dry day with a light SSE wind. Max 10°C.
1.50pm Sandown: Bra’s Dor, Guardami Ancora
2.27pm Sandown: Le Tieps Sacre, Across Earth, He’s A Latchico, Brendas Asking
Ben Pauling cheekpieces; Four Springs, 1.50pm Sandown; 11-88
Gary and Josh Moore cheekpieces; The Boss Bear, 1.50pm Sandown; 2-40
Jonjo and AJ O’Neill cheekpieces; Wreckless Eric. 2.27pm Sandown and Yes Day 3.35pm Sandown; 4-22
1.50pm Sandown (ridiculous amount of pace in here): Gentleman Toboot, Get On George, Laguna Beach, Jury’s In, Kaka’s Cousin, Draco Malfoy, Cinquenta, Rathkenny, Tennessee Tango, Race To Base, Four Springs, Precious Metal, Wolf Walker, Roi Du Risk
2.05pm Wolverhampton: Cinque Verde, Accrual, Vingegaard, Silky Wilkie, Addarella, Knebworth (prom), Dragon Leader (prom)
2.27pm Sandown: Top Jimmy, Rubber Ball (prom), Jack Hyde, We’re Red And Blue, Game Colours, Afadil, General Briar
2.42pm Wolverhampton : The Lost King, First Principle, Bravais, First Ambition
3pm Sandown (limited evidence to go on) : Burds Of A Feather, Gidge, Millstatt Abbey, The Flaggy Shore
3.15pm Wolverhampton: No obvious pace
3.35pm Sandown : Welcom To Cartries, Sound And Fury, Invincible Nao, Bucksy Des Epeires
Good: Nicky Henderson, Max Comley, Richard Hughes, Clive Cox, Andrew Balding, Marco Botti, Bailey and Nicholls, Nick Scholfield, Clive Boultbee-Brooks, Neil King (flying), Ben Clarke, Ewan Whillans
Fair: Dan Skelton, Gary and Josh Moore, Fergal O’Brien, Joe Tizzard, Paul Nicholls, Gavin Cromwell (maybe turning corner after yet another quiet spell – 4-1 winner on Wednesday – but overall probably still moderate), Faye Bramley, Venetia Williams (winner on Friday), Evan Williams, Olly Murphy, Nigel and Willy Twiston Davies, Greenall and Guerriero (fair/good), Jonjo and AJ O’Neill, Parkinson and Smith (winner on Thursday), Anthony Honeyball, Michael Herrington (winner on Thursday), Tony Carroll (poor win strike rate though), David Loughnane, Julie Camacho (no winners), Karl Burke, Joseph Parr (no winners), Scott Dixon, Richard Hannon, Harry Eustace (very small sample; no winners), Ed Dunlop (very small sample; no winners), Ian Williams, Newland/Insole, Mick Appleby (28-1 winner on Thursday), Jack Channon, James Fanshawe (fair/good), Ralph Beckett, Stuart Edmunds, Jamie Snowden, Tom Lacey, Neil Mulholland, Ben Pauling (good/fair), Jack Jones, David Pipe (two recent winners)
Moderate: James Tate (maybe harsh as one beaten a short-head), Jonathan Portman (moderate/fair; one beaten a head), Henrietta Knight, Chris Gordon
Don’t know (small samples): Noel Meade, William Haggas, Coyle and Wood, George Baker
FRIDAY’s DETAILS SANDOWN Round: Good (Going stick 6.2 on Sun 11:30am) Sprint: Good (Good to…
1.10pm Ayr – Cromwell adds a big question mark to the Ayr opener Classic Maestro…
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