PEONY rewarded me last time for finishing fourth at a decent price in a competitive race at York and I now fancy her to go a couple places better at Sandown this afternoon. Ed Walker's filly has the profile of a progressive horse and I do think she was worth more than the bare result on the Knavesmire. She travelled sweetly and stayed on nicely on a track which favoured front runners so I think the performance can definitely be marked up. A repeat of that performance would see her go close today.
Sandown 5.00 – Peony
Saturday
The Portland handicap looks very competitive as you would expect and the soft ground will certainly make the 5 and half furlong test a grind late on. One horse who should appreciate the ground is SIGNIFICANTLY who seems to be back to somewhere near his best form now under the care of Julie Camacho. He ran well in this race last year when racing by himself so if he can get some cover and get amongst the others then I hope he can fare a lot better this time around.
In the big one itself I've found it hard to decide who I'm plumping for. Middle Earth did the business for this column at York but this is quite a step up and he has come a long way in a short space of time so might just find it a race too far. I think CHESSPIECE is the most solid proposition in the race given his preference for soft ground and the extra distance. He has been beaten by both Gregory and Desert Hero already this season but a change in conditions gives him a great chance of reversing that form.
Doncaster 2.25 – Significantly
Doncaster 3.35 – Chesspiece
