Punters will be looking to line their pockets ahead of next week’s Cheltenham Festival and the Imperial Cup is the feature race at Sandown Park on Saturday 8th March. ITV Racing will show seven races at the weekend and our in-house tipster Steve Chambers picks out his best bet in the Imperial Cup and also has two other picks for the day.
2:05pm Hereford – DragonBet Backing Our Opinion At Cheltenham Handicap Chase
Joe Tizzard’s Western General was an impressive 10-length winner last time out at Wincanton and is the one to beat in the 2:05pm at Hereford, but he has been put up 10lbs for that success, so could be worth taking on here. Dan Skelton’s WILLIETHEBUILDER has some smart handicap form over hurdles and is an intriguing contender in this event and makes his chasing debut. The six-year-old was last seen finishing down the field in the red-hot William Hill Hurdle at Newbury, but this will be a lot less frenetic and if he can take to the fences then has to be considered.
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2:25pm Sandown – Betfair Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle
A hugely competitive renewal of the Imperial Cup comes up at 2:25pm and some will hold aspirations of running a big race in this event before going to run at Cheltenham. The likes of Bo Zenith, Go Dante and Batman Girac are entitled to prominent in the betting, but Dan Skelton’s KNICKERBOCKERGLORY could be the each-way value of the way. He got the better of the classy Graded winner Nemean Lion two starts ago in rain-softened conditions, while he was a cracking third at Windsor last time out in a red-hot handicap. He’s high enough in the weights these days, but he’s shown a real zest for these sort of contests and having performed well in all sorts of ground conditions then he can at least grab a place at double-figured odds.
3:35pm Sandown – Best Odds On The Betfair Exchange Handicap Chase
Heading to the Skelton yard for a third time, the brothers Dan and Harry team up with HOE JOLY SMOKE, who can bound to victory in the final race on ITV, the 3:35pm contest at Sandown. A four-and-a-quarter length winner at the track two starts ago, he failed to fire next time out when fifth at Newbury, but a return to the Esher track should see him bounce back. He reportedly bled during that Newbury outing, so that could be a valid excuse and off a mark of 127 he still looks nicely handicapped to win a race of this nature.
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