HORSE RACING fanatic Josh Abley (@Josh_Abley) shares his favourite fancy from Saturday's action at Sandown.
Saturday 5th January 2019 | 2.25 Sandown | ITV
On a quiet but competitive Saturday, I’ve picked out a couple of selections from Sandown.
The feature race of the day is the Tolworth Hurdle over 2m and despite the skinny prices, it is a race that interests me from a betting perspective.
Elixir De Nutz looks to have a great chance, but his odds do highlight this. 2/1 with William Hill is on the skinny side but is still big enough for me to play here. He has the best form in the race by a mile and his defeat of Jarvey’s Plate when conceding 10lbs is eye-catching considering the performance he put up when going one better when winning a good listed contest by 13 lengths on New Year’s Day.
Rathhill has the most potential in the field but I simply can’t have him at 11/10. He looked a nice horse when winning cosily at Newbury last time but the form of that win is unremarkable and a big step up in grade may find him out this early in his career.
Moreover, there is potential Elixir De Nutz might get the run of the race around a track that suits front runners.
Saturday 5th January 2019 | 3.00 Sandown | ITV
The best bet of the day for me however comes in the Veterans Chase Final over 3m at 3pm. It’s a hugely competitive affair but with SkyBet paying six places I’m prepared to get involved.
Rathlin Rose is one of the market leaders at around 9/1 at the time of writing and looks to have a proper each way shout. He made his reappearance over C&D in November when behind a few of these but he should strip much fitter for that run and I expect him to reverse the form with Loose Chips and Rock Gone, with the winner that day running off an 8lb higher mark here.
Rathlin Rose jumped beautifully the last day and two out looked to have a great chance despite always being nursed into the race, however his effort tamed quite quickly. I’m happy to put this down to needing the run and I’m confident David Pipe will have it fit and firing in the hope of landing a cool £60,000 pot.
Best Bets
2.25 Sandown – Elixir De Nutz (2/1 William Hill)
3.00 Sandown – Rathlin Rose (9/1 each-way SkyBet)
