It’s the opening flat meeting of the season at Sandown featuring Group level action. Andrew Mount visits the Surrey track and Doncaster with his best bets on Friday.
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Posted: 9.45pm, Thursday, April 25th
1.50 Sandown – HAND OF GOD (1.5pt win – 2/1 William Hill)
Handicap debutants who were returning from a break of at last 120 days have a good record in the 1m Class 2 Esher Cup, landing ten of the 13 renewals since 2009 (abandoned in 2020 and 2023) from 43 runners for a profit of £21.41 to a £1 level stake at SP. Six of the ten winners scored on their most recent outing and HAND OF GOD, who bolted up in a Newmarket maiden on his final start last term, is the only qualifier this year.
1.58 Doncaster – RATAFIA (1pt win – 5/2 bet365, 9/4 generally)
1.58 Doncaster – BIPLANE (0.5pt ew – 14/1 bet365, BetMGM, Betfred, four places)
I wrote the following about RATAFIA in my GG eyecatchers column after his runner-up effort at Newcastle last November…
‘The stands’ rail bias, favouring high draws on the straight course (distances of 5f-1m), is very strong at Newcastle this winter and Michael Herrington’s RATAFIA deserves extra credit for his short-head runner-up effort to Keep Me Stable in the 7f BetMGM – Stay Golden With Responsible Play Handicap at Newcastle last Tuesday. Sent off as the 11-8 favourite, the hat-trick seeker had a difficult draw in stall 2 and challenged much wider than the winner, who followed up five days later.’
We didn’t see him again until Newcastle last month when he came late to land a 7f handicap to take his record over the trip on straight tracks to 4404321121 (3-10). The first two of those fourth-placed finished came at odds of 100-1 (in a maiden) and 50-1 (in a 17-runner handicap) and the ‘duck egg’ can be excused on account of a desperate draw at Redcar. He’s going to be hard to beat.
BIPLANE is another who enjoys straight tracks, regardless of trip. She hasn’t had many opportunities under these conditions on turf, recording form figures of 20128 (1-5) with the first runner-up effort at 150-1 in novice company and the eighth-placed when an outclassed 250-1 poke in Listed company last backend. She followed that with a 50-1 third at right-handed Musselburgh and will be fighting fit after three runs on the all-weather this spring. The forecast 16-1 looks too big, despite the ground being softer than she prefers.
Andrew Mount’s Best Bets
1.50 Sandown – HAND OF GOD (1.5pt win – 2/1 William Hill)
1.58 Doncaster – RATAFIA (1pt win – 5/2 bet365, 9/4 generally)
1.58 Doncaster – BIPLANE (0.5pt ew – 14/1 bet365, BetMGM, Betfred, four places)
Andrew Mount’s tips for Friday, 26th April 2024.
Andrew Mount’s Myth Busters – A Low Draw is Vital for Sprints at Sandown
After a week’s hiatus, Andrew Mount’s Myth Busters is back to look ahead to the big meeting of the week at Sandown. He poses the question: are low draws vital for sprints at the Surrey track? Sandown’s first Flat fixture of the new season gets underway on Friday and I’m especially looking forward to the…
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