13:50 Sandown

Friday 26 April 2019

All13:5014:2515:0015:3516:0516:3517:05

bet365 Esher Cup Handicap

Off time: 13:52 | Winning time: 1m 43.94s

(5)

Masaru¹⁶

Age: 3| Weight: 9-7| J: R L Moore| T: R Hannon| OR: 91

9/1

Winner of two of three starts to date at Windsor (6f, good to firm) and Kempton (7f AW). Looked like he would get 1m latest and is of interest on handicap debut for top connections.

Form: 18-1

(2)

Ours Puissant^p1¹³¹

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: James Doyle| T: H Palmer| OR: 90| D

12/1

Best form come on AW so far with a win and two seconds there. Recent return as a three-year-old at Doha should have sharpened him up but will need more here.

Form: 0122-

(1)

Reeves¹⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 9-1| J: Raul Da Silva| T: R M H Cowell| OR: 85

13/2

Won seventh and final start at two in a Doncaster maiden. Solid showing on reappearance at Newbury when second of 14 on soft ground. Vastly different conditions likely here and this a stronger race.

Form: 74221-2

(10)

Loch Ness Monster²⁵

Age: 3| Weight: 9-1| J: Alistair Rawlinson| T: M Appleby| OR: 85

16/1

Winner over 6f at two and showed capability for 1m latest when only beaten ½L into third on the AW at Newcastle. This however represents a significant step up in class.

Form: 2189-3

(4)

Red Bravo²²⁵

Age: 3| Weight: 8-13| J: W Buick| T: C Hills| OR: 83

16/1

75,000gns yearling; sprung a surprise (25/1) when winning on soft ground on debut at Newmarket (7f) in July, but came up short twice subsequently at Chelmsford and Doncaster. More needed and has enough weight for form so far.

Form: 150-

(11)

Migration¹³

Age: 3| Weight: 8-12| J: Andrea Atzeni| T: D Menuisier| OR: 82

6/1

Significant step up on juvenile form when second of 13 at Newbury over 1m on reappearance a couple of weeks ago. Will have to step up again but stiffer track here should play to his strengths.

Form: 85-2

(7)

Reggae Runner⁶

Age: 3| Weight: 8-12| J: J Fanning| T: C & M Johnston| OR: 82| BF| D

9/2

1m Lingfield winner in third start and only narrowly touched off on handicap debut at Musselburgh latest over the same trip. Up 3lb for that but three-year-olds from this yard usually progress with racing so merits respect again.

Form: 4212

(9)

Fox Leicester²⁹

Age: 3| Weight: 8-11| J: S De Sousa| T: A M Balding| OR: 81| D

5/2

Built on two good seconds at two on turf to strike in impressive fashion latest at Chelmsford. Appears to have been quite well treated by the handicapper here and looks to have leading claims.

Form: 532-1

(8)

Lestrade^h²⁰

Age: 3| Weight: 8-10| J: Jason Watson| T: W Jarvis| OR: 80| BF

14/1

Stoutly bred colt a winner at Chelmsford over 7f in March before narrowly touched off over same trip under a penalty next at Lingfield. Stiff 1m here should bring about improvement and highly respected on turf debut.

Form: 412

(6)

Starfighter²⁴⁰

Age: 3| Weight: 8-4| J: David Egan| T: E Walker| OR: 74

14/1

Took a step forward in final start at two for Tom Dascombe when a good second of nine and looks the sort who will be better still this year. That said he races from 6lb out of the handicap here so will have better chances going forward.

Form: 332-

Non-Runners

(3)

House Of Kings²¹⁴

Weight: 9-2| Age: 3

T: C G Cox J: David Probert

Forecasts

Fox Leicester (5/2), Reggae Runner (9/2), Migration (6/1), House Of Kings (6/1), Reeves (13/2), Masaru (9/1), Ours Puissant (12/1), Starfighter (14/1), Lestrade (14/1), Loch Ness Monster (16/1), Red Bravo (16/1)

Always a tough contest to win this and likely a few of these will prove well above their current ratings in the coming months. One who certainly appeals as potentially well treated is FOX LEICESTER who won impressively on the AW last time out. Masaru impressed at Kempton and has a touch of class so he may provide the biggest threat while the running style of Lestrade suggests such a test might be ideal.