Saturday 8th December

Verasi looked the winner yesterday before ploughing through the last, and I was so confident I didn't manage to lay any of the 1:12 in-running as insurance. (In truth my record of laying off in-running is woeful. I get picked off by the sharks and end up with unwanted insurance on the ones that win and don't get matched on the ones that lose!).

I think I'll stick with Sandown today and have three nice races to concentrate on.

Sandown 2:05
Pancake 5/2
Moon Over Miami 3/1
Marodima 3/1
Mahogany Blaze 7/2

Pancake is my favourite by default really. He gets a very useful allowance in a race Fair Along won last year. Moon Over Miami may have looked good last time but two fell behind him, and his record right handed is woeful. Mahogany Blaze should really be at least the same price. I've not been happy with the way Twiston-Davies's horses have been finishing their races though, and his victory over MoM was when his yard was flying. Marodima had it easy at Warwick last time but had been poor before that. He and Pancake could get hooked up in a duel here. The obvious thing to do is to lay Moon Over Miami. I think I will, and have a small press up on Pancake.

Sandown 2:35
Voy Per Ustedes 5/4
Monets Garden 4/1
Twist Magic 5/1
Ashley Brook 6/1

Corals are ducking Voy Per Ustedes and that's a worry. This does look his race to me though. Monets Garden is a 2 and a half mile horse, who doesn't travel, and Twist Magic loves a flat track and this ground may not help him. In fact Ashley Brook appeals more to me at the prices than those two. I thought he may well have hung on at Aintree, but you'd have to be disappointed if VPU couldn't beat him. 11/8 or better looks perfectly fair.

Sandown 3:40
Tana River 3/1
McEvoy 5/1
Kilbeggan Blade 11/2
The Luder 11/2
Bubble Boy 6/1

I want to side with the two horses with good course records. Tana River won this well last year. The going and topweight is a worry. However, the ground didn't seem too bad yesterday on the jumps course and hopefully there'll be more wind than rain today. McEvoy's trainer is in terrible form and I was surprised to see him priced up favourite this morning even without taking that into account. Kilbeggan Blade is a plodder and this isn't a plodder's course unless the rain really does come. The Luder did seem to jump better last time but prior to that had looked a dog pure and simple. Which leaves Bubble Boy, who has to cope with going and distance but did win round here rather well last time, when we were on, and at the price I don't see much reason to desert him.

£500 Challenge
Tana River £9 win at 4/1+
Bubble Boy £4 win at 10/1+
£1rev fc