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Equinties - Sandown Saturday
BGP Capital
January 03, 2026
Gm, Equinauts
We’re not sure if Wincanton goes ahead but we have previewed the ITV races anyway just in case. Fingers crossed it is on because the Scoop 6 pot is £275k today! You are an idiot if you don’t try and win it: Tote | Offers
Well done to Andrew Harvey - you’ve been selected for the FREE £200 bet!
Please DM us to organise.
Now, let’s dive in!
HEADLINE ROUND UP
IAN BALDING
Ian Balding, trainer of the legendary MILL REEF and father to Clare and Andrew Balding, passed away at the age of 87 yesterday. Across twitter/racing X, there were tributes from the sport’s best that summed up the legendary man better than we ever could.
It seems like Ian Balding had a quite brilliant life and it is so incredibly sad his dementia meant he probably couldn’t remember it.
A winning rider, he went on to have a fantastic training career, and he set up a brilliant family of overachieving children. A successful career and a great family; that’s the dream, isn’t it? Of course, Ian Balding will forever be remembered for MILL REEF, a quite incredible horse.
Coventry, Gimcrack, Dewhurst, Greenham, Derby, Eclipse, King George, Arc, Ganay, Coronation Cup, Champion three-year-old colt, European Horse of the Year, Champion Older Horse, a statue of him at the National Stud, and his own race at Newbury.
That is a brilliant list of achievements, and that’s without mentioning his stallion career.
Considered the greatest thoroughbred to run in Europe post-WWII, his career at stud was also very successful. His progeny, collectively, won eight British and Irish Classics as well as the QEII, the King George, a couple of foreign Classics, and so many more Group 1s.
MILL REEF and all those great Balding-trained horses are testament to a great man.
RIP, Ian Balding.
EYES ON
Assuming racing does go ahead (we’re hoping it has if this gets included), there are a couple of horses away from the previews to note.
The first, obviously, comes in the Cork opener with the odds-on THE REVEREND for Willie Mullins and Paul Townend. It was reported a few months ago that the Old Borough Cup winner was heading to Willie Mullins to take on hurdles, and this is his debut over timber.
On the horse, Sean Graham, racing manager to Bloom, said: "The Reverend is not bred to jump so he's never going to be electric over his hurdles starting off, but his schooling has been okay. He's been a bit free at home, but that could be just because he's fresh as he hasn't run in a while.
"He's wearing a hood to just get him to drop his head. Looking at the race, you'd probably be disappointed if he didn't collect. The trip and ground is no worry whatsoever. He won a handicap at Ascot in 2024 – and did you see who was third? Poniros! I walked the track that day as they had so much rain overnight and the ground against the rail was really deep.
"He won by three lengths, and Ralph Beckett [then trainer of Poniros] thought a lot of his horse and that was always in the back of my mind when buying Poniros.
"The Reverend is fit and everything has gone according to plan. He's five, so if he was ever going to go jumping it's best to do it now, and if it doesn't work out he has all the middle-distance handicaps in the summer to look forward to."
It’ll be interesting to see how well he goes. It strikes us that he might not turn into a Supreme horse or anything as these Flat horses rarely do, but a big performance here could well throw his name forward. Back in the UK, SINNATRA has looked like quite a smart animal for Dan Skelton, and he’s looking to get a win under the belt in the Sandown opener. He was beaten by ACT OF INNOCENCE at Newbury last time out when well-fancied, and while that form has taken a knock since, he may be too good here.
However, Paul Nicholls has the four-year-old gelding POURQUOI PAS PAPA in here. Nicholls beat one of his former owners at Newbury the other day with a juvenile hurdler getting loads of weight; could lightning strike twice here? He shaped well on his stable debut behind the useful MACKTOAD, and it’s not out of the question that he improves for experience.
And in the race after, Ben Pauling sends VANDERPOEL. He is up 8lbs for a facile Ascot win, and Pauling thinks a lot of him. He could improve again off 134, and he has to be on the shortlist.
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