Matt Brocklebank previews Friday's informative Flat card at Sandown, where Richard Hannon is fancied to win another Bet365 Mile with the in-form Kool Kompany.
Recommended bets: Friday racing
1pt e.w. First Up in 1.50 Sandown at 8/1
3pts win Monarchs Glen in 2.55 Sandown at 11/10
1pt win Kool Kompany in Sandown 3.30 at 9/2
A smashing two days’ racing at Sandown get under way with a quality and potentially highly informative Flat card on Friday, featuring the Group Two bet365 Mile.
KOOL KOMPANY heads the market on the back of his comeback success over last year’s Craven winner Stormy Antarctic in the Doncaster Stakes, after which trainer Richard Hannon claimed he thought he might just have needed the run.
He’d obviously taken a while to come to hand but the fact he was able to overcome the winter rustiness to get up on the line bodes extremely well for the rest of the season and if all goes to plan then he could obviously be heading for the Lockinge at Newbury before a possible tilt at the Queen Anne.
The reopposing Dawn Of Hope, trained by Roger Varian, was also finishing with gusto on Town Moor and must be afforded a great deal of respect, but we can expect Kool Kompany to be sharper for the run and he’s fancied to uphold the form and provide his trainer with a second successive victory in the race.
Hannon junior broke through at the third time of asking with Toormore 12 months ago, having saddled the third the year before and runner-up in 2014, and it’s a race his father won seven times in total.
He may ultimately be given most to think about by Cougar Mountain and Mondialiste, who have been out in the Emirates.
Both perform best on quick ground and should appreciate the stiff mile that this course presents but Cougar Mountain carries a penalty for winning the Joel Stakes at Newmarket in September and Mondialiste tends to produce his better efforts when he’s allowed to run on Lasix in America.
The Gordon Richards Stakes is a tricky one to weigh up with John Gosden bringing Royal Artillery back from a long lay-off and standout form horse My Dream Boat not having his preferred soft going.
Perhaps the value lies elsewhere with Sir Michael Stoute’s Ulysses but it’s fair to say last year’s three-year-olds weren’t of the highest calibre and he’s probably one to watch first time out this year, for all he is expected to improve with age under Stoute’s guidance.
MONARCHS GLEN is not one to be missed in the bet365 Classic Trial at 2.55.
Stablemate Cracksman got home in the shadow of the Epsom post on Wednesday to lay down an early marker for the Derby but this fellow son of Frankel looks equally exciting.
He still appeared green when opening his account at the second attempt in a Goodwood maiden over nine furlongs in October and was also a little bit headstrong in the early stages when landing a Kempton handicap from a mark of 87 earlier this month.
He bowled along powerfully in front when Frankie Dettori eventually got him settled and skipped clear in great style when asked to quicken on straightening for home.
That came over a mile and three but he’ll have no problem at all dropping back a furlong in trip, especially with the recent run hopefully taking some of the early fizz out of him, and anything odds-against looks excellent business given the yard’s exceptionally strong start in the Classic division.
The best bet in the handicaps comes in the opening bet365 Esher Cup Handicap, where the suitably-named FIRST UP looks ahead of his mark.
He’s unlikely to be the only one in that category in a race full of unexposed three-year-olds but Jeremy Noseda does really well with this type and his form behind Rivet and Zainhom in York maidens last term reads particularly well.
Those two races have produced 10 subsequent winners between them and while First Up didn’t have to improve much to land a relatively weak contest over seven furlongs at Kempton when last seen in September, it was a good confidence booster and one which leaves him dangerously well treated on his first try over a mile here.
The step up promises to suit the son of Coral-Eclipse runner-up Rip Van Winkle as he’s closely related to several winners at the trip and his dam was a middle-distance performer before scoring over hurdles.
Noseda no doubt has some lofty ambitions for the horse and he’ll need to climb the ranks a bit in order to realistically develop into a Royal Ascot contender – he looks capable of doing so, starting with this valuable contest.
Posted at 1050 BST on 27/04/17.