19:05 Sandown

Thursday 30 May 2019

All17:5518:3019:0519:3520:1020:40

Read Silvestre De Sousa's Blog starsports.bet.co.uk Handicap

Off time: 19:06 | Winning time: 1m 42.95s

(4)

Renegade Master¹³⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 9-7| J: Nicola Currie| T: George Baker| OR: 83| D

25/1

Has improved with each and every AW start; switches to turf for the first time seeking a hat-trick following wins over 1m & 1m2f at Lingfield; 6lb higher than when clinging on by a nose to beat Water's Edge in January.

Form: 72-11

(7)

Fox Leicester²⁶

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: S De Sousa| T: A M Balding| OR: 82| BF| D

5/6

Landed the odds with ease in a 1m Chelmsford novice in March; has kept good company since introduced to handicapping, including when finishing fourth to Masaru (beaten 3L) in the Class 2 Esher Cup over C&D (good to firm); the form horse.

Form: 532-143

(1)

Sparkle In His Eye²⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: Oisin Murphy| T: W J Haggas| OR: 82| D

7/2

Lightly-raced Sea The Stars colt who earned his racing stripes by winning on the AW at Newcastle (1m) in January; beaten 3½L (third) by Davydenko in a 1m Windsor novice latest; obvious potential on handicap debut from an official mark of 82.

Form: 213

(5)

Hold Still¹⁹⁷

Age: 3| Weight: 9-3| J: Jason Watson| T: W R Muir| OR: 79

10/1

Has shown definite improvement on the AW since going handicapping, holding on well to beat Fume by a neck at Kempton (7f) in November; up 6lb, in trip and grade on his first start for 197 days; needs yet another career best.

Form: 45541-

(6)

Dawn Treader²³⁹

Age: 3| Weight: 9-3| J: Tom Marquand| T: R Hannon| OR: 79

16/1

Siyouni gelding; the best of his three juvenile starts came over C&D last September when finishing just under 2L second to the China Horse Club International-owned Kosciuszko; making his handicap debut for a trainer who also saddles Balata Boy.

Form: 429-

(9)

Balata Bay⁹

Age: 3| Weight: 9-2| J: Luke Catton⁽⁷⁾| T: R Hannon| OR: 78

33/1

Boasts plenty of racing experience (2-11) and has probably shown some improvement as a 3yo. However, he rates as the second string of the Richard Hannon-duo and looks to be out of his comfort zone in this type of contest.

Form: 27-3169

(8)

Steeve²¹⁸

Age: 3| Weight: 9-2| J: Rob Hornby| T: B R Millman| OR: 78

20/1

Sole win came on heavy ground early on in his racing career (5f, Salisbury); consistent thereafter, rounding off his juvenile season with an excellent nose second to Al Fajir Mukbile in a Newmarket nursery (7f, good); stamina reservations over 1m.

Form: 366332-

(2)

Eardley Road^p1³²

Age: 3| Weight: 9-0| J: H Crouch| T: C G Cox| OR: 76

20/1

6/1 winner of a 6f Kempton maiden on debut in February; not a million miles off that level of performance in defeat since (over 7f); that said, requires plenty more improvement for the fitting of cheekpieces and the additional step up in trip.

Form: 155

(10)

Promise Of Success¹⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 9-0| J: P Cosgrave| T: S bin Suroor| OR: 76

10/1

Holds a few high-profile entries; is slowly getting to grips with the racing game, finishing 2L third to Motivate Me in a 1m2f Salisbury novice (good to firm) earlier in the month; perfectly fair mark for handicap debut; chance.

Form: 4-03

(3)

Conspiritor²¹⁶

Age: 3| Weight: 8-11| J: R Kingscote| T: C Hills| OR: 73

25/1

Filled the minor places behind a 1/9f (Jash) on third start at Salisbury (6f) in September; posted a low-key handicap debut 216 days ago, and his suitability for this 1m trip looks questionable; unlikely to figure positively.

Form: 6637-

Forecasts

Fox Leicester (5/6), Sparkle In His Eye (7/2), Hold Still (10/1), Promise Of Success (10/1), Dawn Treader (16/1), Eardley Road (20/1), Steeve (20/1), Conspiritor (25/1), Renegade Master (25/1), Balata Bay (33/1)

Fox Leicester finished fourth to Masaru in the Class 2 Esher Cup over C&D last month, and that's clearly the strongest form in the book when assessing this race. However, there are a couple of horses who could prove capable of matching or bettering that form in time, namely SPARKLE IN HIS EYE (William Haggas) and Promise of Success (Saeed Bin Suroor). The selection is a very lightly-raced Sea The Stars colt who found a suitable winning opportunity on the AW at Newcastle in January, before raising his game further on turf debut at Windsor (third to Davydenko) 24 days ago. He looks just the type to do well now sent handicapping.