SANDOWN

1:50

Surrey Quest (Nathan Brennan)

Things didn’t go right for him in a Grade 2 at Warwick last time where he jumped abysmally and made bad mistake at a crucial time so that was him cooked but we’ve done a lot of schooling with him since so I’m hopeful you’ll see a better display here. He came backed all tied up in knots and everything after that race as well so we’ve given him plenty of time to recover and he arrives here in good shape. This is a very competitive race but he won his qualifier very impressively at Doncaster when Nathan was on board and it makes sense to put him back on because he’d have to carry a lot of weight otherwise. He’s most definitely a horse for next year but the ground should suit and I think he has a decent chance.

2:25

Balco Coastal (Nico De Boinville)

My gut reaction was that he didn’t stay at Cheltenham last time, because he’s not short of speedy by any means, so we’re going back down in trip and he’s a person we’ve always thought a great deal of. He’s only a novice but is very professional and his work has always been very good, as has his jumping, and he goes there with very realistic credentials.

Unfortunately there’s no bonus this year for winning here and a race at Cheltenham so there’s no real incentive to do both, but it’s still a nice prize to go for, and while I would think it’s highly unlikely he’ll go to Cheltenham next week, if he wins doing hand stands then perhaps we can consider it but I wouldn’t think it likely.

3:00

Luccia (Nico De Boinville)

The form of her debut win at Warwick hasn’t worked out particularly well but she was very impressive that day and we would have been surprised if she hadn’t done what she did because we think quite a lot of her.

Her half-brother is Hooper and I also trained the dam, Earth Amber, so we know the family well and she is a mare with a very bright future. I was very impressed with Milton Harris’s horse at Cheltenham last time, and she’s probably the one to beat, but we get in here with a nice weight for age allowance and she’ll go extremely close.

HEREFORD

4:51

City Chief (Jonjo O’Neill Jnr)

The horse who beat him at Doncaster last time would probably have won the Sidney Banks at Huntingdon had he not fallen at the last hurdle so that is rock solid form and the step up to three miles will suit because he’s already a Point to Point winner and will make a lovely chaser next season.

Next week is the start of the eagerly anticipated Cheltenham Festival and I’ll be writing blogs every single day with thoughts and reaction on our runners all week so be sure to keep your eyes on @Sevenbarrows and @Unibetracing.