17:15 Sandown

Saturday 27 April 2019

All13:5014:2515:0015:3516:1016:4017:15

bet365 Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 17:15 | Winning time: 4m 48.8s

River Frost¹³⁷

Age: 7| Weight: 11-12| J: Wayne Hutchinson| T: A King| OR: 141

20/1

Fell on chasing debut at Uttoxeter (2m4f, soft) in December and absent since; 8lb higher than when a ready winner over hurdles at Kempton (2m5f, good) in February 2018.

Form: 9/5P0-9F

Eragon De Chanay^v⁴⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 11-9| J: Joshua Moore| T: G & J Moore| OR: 138| CD

20/1

Solid overall course record (2m-2m4f) which reads 1,1,7,3; answered any doubts about his effectiveness on quick ground when a 16/1 winner at Wincanton (2m5f) in February; toiled in the Coral Cup latest.

Form: 13731P

Wait For Me¹⁴

Age: 9| Weight: 11-5| J: R Johnson| T: P Hobbs & J White| OR: 134| CD

11/4

Authoritative 6L winner of this race on good ground (from a similar mark) in 2017; fairly productive elsewhere around this time of year in 2018; staying on third to Mahlervous at Ayr (2m5f) two-weeks ago; realistic chance.

Form: 2073U3

Commanche Red³³

Age: 6| Weight: 11-4| J: Tom Cannon| T: C Gordon| OR: 133

5/1

First season hurdler; effective between 2m and 2m4f; career best when produced late to challenge in order to beat Ravenous by 1½L at Wincanton (2m, good) 33-days ago; more on his plate in this company; stablemate of On The Slopes.

Form: 6-15731

Push The Tempo^h²²

Age: 6| Weight: 11-3| J: C Gethings| T: R Stephens| OR: 132

28/1

Winner of his first three starts under rules (bumper plus two 2m5f+ Newton Abbot novice hurdles); highly tried since, finishing in midfield on handicap debut (40/1) in the Grade 3 Merseyrail Handicap Hurdle at Aintree recently.

Form: 111530

Colonial Dreams⁵⁸

Age: 7| Weight: 11-2| J: N de Boinville| T: N J Henderson| OR: 131| BF

14/1

Tried vainly to pursue the commanding winner Ballymoy in a Grade 3 Handicap Hurdle at Ascot in January (beaten just under 2L); considered on that form, and an earlier run at Kempton; inexplicably poor at Taunton since.

Form: 11-2625

Dan McGrue^t⁵⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 11-2| J: H Cobden| T: P F Nicholls| OR: 131

12/1

Dual Taunton scorer (2m3f, soft) with the potential to continue to progress still very much on the cards; finished weakly when third and beaten 17L by Forza Milan over C&D (soft) 50-days ago; past PTP winner on good ground.

Form: 4411-P3

Encore Champs⁶⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-1| J: D A Jacob| T: W Greatrex| OR: 130

20/1

Novice; notched a second hurdles win when beating Lord Yeats (runs in the opener) at Kelso in January; mid-division finish behind Capitaine on handicap bow at Taunton (2m+); ground fine; can a new trip bring about further progress?

Form: 211717

Wynford^b,t³¹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-1| J: Harry Skelton| T: D Skelton| OR: 130| D

20/1

Historically has proved strong during the summer months, so it's entirely possible that he prefers less taxing assignments; can cope with most trips (2m-3m); working back to form with a staying on Market Rasen third (2m7f).

Form: 2170P3

Irish Prophecy¹⁶⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 11-0| J: Adam Wedge| T: Miss E C Lavelle| OR: 129| C

28/1

Made all when winning unchallenged in a 2m maiden hurdle at this track in November 2017 (debut); yet to try the handicapping route; bled from the nose on chasing debut at Hereford in November 2018; off since.

Form: 1/1264-P

A Hare Breath^p⁵⁶

Age: 11| Weight: 10-12| J: C Brace⁽⁷⁾| T: B Pauling| OR: 127| C

12/1

Lightly-raced for his age; Listed winner on his sole previous Sandown start in November 2017 (2m), so therefore it's possible to argue a reasoned case based upon a plummeting handicap mark, albeit he's probably in decline nowadays.

Form: 188-597

Champagne Court⁴³

Age: 6| Weight: 10-11| J: Nick Scholfield| T: J Scott| OR: 126

4/1

Lingfield novice winner (2m); placed at Carlisle on his penultimate start; never reached a challenging position when finishing just over 12L fourth to Early Doors in the Martin Pipe CJ's Handicap which concluded the Cheltenham Festival 43-days ago.

Form: 415534

Trans Express^p³⁴

Age: 9| Weight: 10-7| J: Lucy Gardner| T: Mrs S Gardner| OR: 122| D

28/1

If this race were at Exeter, this 9yo would be in his element as a five-time winner at that track, including when all out from a 3lb lower mark over an extended 2m2f (good to soft) 34-days ago.

Form: 113341

That's A Given²⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 10-7| J: L P Aspell| T: P Hobbs & J White| OR: 122

6/1

Stablemate of Wait For Me; beaten favourite on each of his first two starts over hurdles (Ludlow and Huntingdon), but is getting his act together now; 6lb higher than when accounting for Paint The Dream at Wincanton (2m5f+, good).

Form: 10-3421

Non-Runners

Mr Antolini⁴³

Weight: 11-10| Age: 9

T: N & W Twiston-Davies J: Sam Twiston-Davies

On The Slopes²³

Weight: 10-13| Age: 5

T: C Gordon J: S Bowen

Forecasts

Wait For Me (11/4), Champagne Court (4/1), Commanche Red (5/1), That's A Given (6/1), A Hare Breath (12/1), Dan McGrue (12/1), Colonial Dreams (14/1), On The Slopes (14/1), Mr Antolini (16/1), Encore Champs (20/1), Wynford (20/1), Eragon De Chanay (20/1), River Frost (20/1), Trans Express (28/1), Push The Tempo (28/1), Irish Prophecy (28/1)

A wide open race to conclude the 2018/19 jumps season. If you were to ignore an inexplicably poor performance at Taunton, then the Nicky Henderson-trained Colonial Dreams would rate as an interesting contender based upon his earlier Grade 3 form at Ascot, whilst the Paul Nicholls-trained Dan McGrue and the Philip Hobbs-trained That's A Given have the potential to continue to progress, with the former perhaps likely to be suited by racing on a sound surface at this 2m4f trip. However, another Hobbs-trained runner WAIT FOR ME traditionally thrives during the spring months, and with Richard Johnson in the saddle is taken to repeat his 6L win in this race in 2017.