Puppy Hoping To Swoop On Hawk At Sandown

Sandown’s Imperial Cup meeting might have lost a bit of the gloss of years gone by but there’s a lot of money on offer still and it remains a wide open betting heat which would give punters a bit of confidence if finding the winner on the eve of the Cheltenham Festival.

Take Fancy Odds That Fire Still Burns In Ex-Martin Horse
There are certainly as many negatives as there are positives for Pyromaniac but we’ll focus on the positives here and one of those is his price at 40/1. It wouldn’t be expected for anyone to improve a horse out of Tony Martin’s but if a change of scenery does sweeten up Pyromaniac and he can find his best form he can go very close at colossal odds with just 10st on his back.

Off the track since finishing well behind in a handicap hurdle at Kilbeggan last June, the nine-year-old cost £20,000 out of Martin’s and this would be some way to return that investment if he was to be victorious here.

Pyromaniac’s best runs are definitely behind him but Alastair Ralph has been in some good yards and if the horse can find the form that saw him finish second in a Premier Handicap on the Flat behind Quick Jack…

it would give him a strong claim here.

Puppy Hoping To Swoop On Hawk
BoyleSports ambassador Robbie Power goes to Sandown for one ride this afternoon but it may well be a winning one.

The novice handicap hurdle is a valuable pot and the Colin Tizzard-trained Russian Hawk could take the honours.

A mark of 133 seems to be fairly reasonable for the Exeter maiden hurdle winner who’d have two wins to his name now only for a mistake at the last hurdle last time out.

This is an ultra competitive affair with One For Rosie topping the weights but Russian Hawk is a five-year-old than can improve for racing and probably be even better over fences next season.

This sort of trip looks ideal for him and an extra ease in the ground shouldn’t do him any harm.

In a wide open race he looks worth backing at 8/1.

Recommended Bets:
Pyromaniac (40/1) – 2.25 Sandown
Russian Hawk (8/1) – 1.50 Sandown

*Prices correct at time of publication.