Gm, Equinauts

There is a big £150k (minimum) Placepot up for grabs for Sandown’s finale on the Tote today.

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Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

🚀OVER FROM THE START

OPERA BALLO put on a real show yesterday to win Sandown’s Group 2 Mile stuffing FIELD OF GOLD (and every one else) in behind to eat his dust.

But look at the way he left the gates! Blink and you’ll miss it:

The race plan as executed perfectly as Appleby told Buick to allow OB to run like his dad did - from the front and don’t look round.

None of us expected that electric start though. It was incredible. OPERA BALLO put an easy three lengths on the field within the first two seconds of the race and it was game over for every one else.

We knew he had wintered very well and would see a different horse this year. Like many Godolphin runners, he also benefited from a stint in Meydan, picking up two wins while yesterday’s rivals were left to endure the colder winter months at home. On that basis, you can upgrade FIELD OF GOLD’s run in behind him who, this morning was facing criticism from most for being overrated. We don’t think that.

FIELD OF GOLD was apparently only 85% fit so should be a force to be reckoned with this summer. He’s not one to give up on whatsoever and we’d find it hard to know who to back between him and OPERA BALLO should they cross paths again.

Elsewhere on Sandown’s absolutely STACKED card yesterday ran the full brother to HUKUM and BAAEED:

RAAHEEB certainly looks one to follow to see if he can reach the dizzy Group 1 heights his brothers did.

🌍DAN’S WORLD

The British jumps season reaches its traditional finale at Sandown today. It’s a day that celebrates the standout performers and crowns its champions. This year, Sean Bowen is set to secure his second jockeys’ title after a dominant, front-foot campaign. However, the main spotlight falls on Dan Skelton (it’s a wide spotlight), who is set to claim his first TRAINERS’ TITLE, ending the long-standing dominance of Willie Mullins and receiving the trophy from his once-mentor Paul Nicholls.

Dan’s success has been built not on a single standout moment, but on a carefully executed season-long strategy. By targeting races with stronger prize-money and placing his horses ever so cleverly, he has significantly increased both earnings and strike-rate at the highest level to set a new standard in jumps racing.

That strategy is reflected in his runners at Sandown, where horses like THISTLE ASK swerved the temptations of Cheltenham to instead aim at todays valuable race with a relatively easier and smaller field. Skelton has increasingly favoured such contests and it is clearly working to great effect, boosting both his win rate and prize money.

THISTLE ASK is also THE case in point for Dan’s ability to train. he entered Dan’s stable rated a lowly 115… He is now 160 and vying for favouritism in a Grade 1. He is simply the best jumps trainer in Britain right now. And by a long way.

Yeh people call him a cheat, we get why, but good Lord, his ability to get horses ready for that ONE day is simply unparalleled. It’s pure magic and todays it’s celebrated appropriately.

Overall, Skelton’s rise to the championship has been driven by a combination of improved horse quality, unparalleled race placement, and a data-led focus on opportunity. We think Dan will stay at the top spot for a long, long time to come.

Well done, Dan.

🐎GRADE 1 CELEBRATION CHASE

The great JONBON heads the market here at a short 6/4 repping Nicky Henderson. This is Nicky’s race. He’s won this race 6x in the last decade with the likes of the mighty ALTIOR, SPRINTER SACRE and of course, JONBON.

JONBON got stuffed in this last year but had raced at both Cheltenham AND Aintree going into it. Nicky didn’t send JONBON to Aintree this year in a bid to freshen him up for this.

So who can beat him?

Well, the aforementioned THISTLE ASK is next in the market at 9/4. We actually fancied him to run well in the Champion Chase had he turned up. But Dan put him away and saved him for this. Could this be the clever move he is so, so good at executing?

We know he is going to front run, or try to anyway, as SOLNESS likes to get on with things too. These tactics could prove the decisive move in this race as its bloody fast ground making it difficult for the others to spin their legs quickly enough to make up that ground.

We really don’t think the others have a chance here.

Verdict: Only there horses should be in the mix here and they’re the top 3 in the market. Look, we HATE going against JONBON as we think he doesn’t get the merit he deserves. A multiple Grade 1 champion, he is a certified hall of famer and JP loves him. But we think he might get done for speed today on the ground. THISTLE ASK has come from no where this season but 3x Graded races and finishing second in the Clarence House, he’s proved his rise to the top is no fluke. If he jumps like a buck out in front, on this ground, he could be hard to catch and is the tentative selection in a race not to miss. On this ground, we just hope every horse at Sandown comes back safe and sound.

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