Betfair ambassador Ryan Moore on his latest rides
Betfair ambassador Ryan Moore provides his thoughts on his latest rides at Sandown.
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13:50 Sandown - Twilight Calls
What I said about him before Royal Ascot stands, and that is he is in with an excellent chance if he can get out of the stalls even adequately well. The starts are costing him dearly at the moment – hopefully the first-time cheekpieces could help him there - but he has still run very good races at Newmarket and Ascot this season, and a stiff 5f on decent ground here really should suit him. But I see there they are currently forecast for quite a bit of rain on Friday into Saturday, and that wouldn’t be ideal for him.
14:25 Sandown - Perotto
He won this race in good style last season but he is 8lb higher here. So the issue is whether the handicapper has got hold of him now. But he clearly ran a huge race when third in the Hunt Cup last time and he is two from two at this track, so there are plenty of positives. The less rain, the better his chance.
15:00 Sandown - Clove Hitch
I haven’t ridden her before but she clearly comes here on the back of an impressive Newbury win last time, so the step up in class looks an obvious move. If she progresses further, then she has a pretty good chance.
15:35 Sandown - City Of Troy
We obviously always thought the world of him at two and he delivered each time, so we were all a touch bemused by his performance in the Guineas and, as a result, we went to Epsom more hopeful than confident that he could get back on track. However, we clearly saw the 2yo version at Epsom when he was brilliant in beating Ambiente Friendly and Los Angeles, and the Irish Derby put that performance into an even more favourable context. This represents a different test and challenge once again, but he comes here in good shape and we are very happy with him.
16:47 Sandown - Aerion Power
He clearly didn’t run his race in the Hunt Cup last time but he is only 2lb higher than when winning at Nottingham previously, we know he stays this 1m2f trip and he has run well here before. He has his chance.