bet365 day at Sandown

An excellent card at Sandown today, where bookmaker bet365 is the sponsor. This is the final day of the official N.H. season, and although there are two pattern races on the flat, jumps racing takes centre stage with the bet 365 Gild Cup (previously Whitbread), a handicap chase over 3 miles 5 furlongs at 16.20 CET with 19 runners. As always, this looks wde open, but if Irish de Balme (Sean Curran/ Charlie Huxley) can reproduce his running of last Saturday, when he ran away with the Scottish Grand National, he would have an outstanding chance. He is miles out of the handicap, but so he was last week, and last year Hot Weld brought off the double, so his chance is there for all to see. Tony Martin´s Royal County Star (Robbie Colgan) is the bookmakers favourite here after his second place in the Irish Grand National, while consistent Ungaro (Keith Revely/ Sam Thomas) is another fancied runner. The Grade Two celebration Chase over 2 miles at 15.40 features a German runner, Fiepes Shuffle (Christian von der Recke/ Jamie Moore), but this front-runner (who fell at the last when looking te winner on his last trip to Sandown) faces a very stiff task against the likes of Monet´s Garden (Nicky Richards/ Dominic Elsworth) and Andreas (Paul Nicholls/ Ruby Walsh). Nicholls and Walsh can team up to win the 2 1/2 mile handicap hurdle at 15.10 with top-weight Earth Planet, where German-bred Backbord is not without a chance; another German-bred hurdler who should go well in the conditions is Caracciola (Nicky Henderson/ Andrew Tinkler) at 14.40. On the flat, the Group Two Bet365 Mile at 16.55 is the main feature, but it is a rather sub-standard renewal and should concern mainly Major Cadeaux (Richard Hannon/ Richard Hughes) and Medicine Path (Peter Chapple-Hyam/ Jamie Spencer). The Group Three Classic Trial over 10 furlongs at 17.30 also looks a match, between Centennial (John Gosden/ Jimmy Fortune) and Feared in Flight (Barry Hills/ Darryll Holland)