Sandown
2.40pm
Golden Taipan
Aside from a slightly below par run at Kempton in October, this horse has been a model of consistency throughout his career to date. And he posted his best effort yet when second to a well-handicapped horse at Kempton last time, with a well-fancied horse immediately behind him. He is back into novice company here and he looks to have a solid chance with the field cutting up, though he does have to carry a 10lb penalty for his two hurdling wins. The drier the better for him.
3.00pm
Ask Dillon
He is a horse we think a lot of, and I reckon there is plenty more to come from him. He clearly handles testing ground well, and he ended last season on a high at Exeter. We thought he would be very competitive on his return at Chepstow and he duly ran well in third in what were pretty extreme conditions. It was disappointing to see him go up 2lb for that, as he was beaten 6 lengths and the first two have been beaten since, but I thought he did very well there considering the mistake he made early on really put him on the back foot. I think he is a good horse who can hopefully rate higher than 139. In fact, he has a right chance here, as I think he is made for Sandown in this ground.
3.35pm
Royal Vacation
He hasn’t been at his best around here in the past and he clearly didn’t run up to his best at Taunton last time. But he clearly has a chance on his Badger Beers third for me at Wincanton in November and he has shown he can win off this mark in the past, too. He has won on soft but he is another who would ideally like better ground.
