Grand Military Gold Cup at Sandown

The Grand Military Gold Cup, a 3 mile chase to be ridden by members of the armed forces, will be run this afternoon at 16.25 CET at Sandown and was always regarded as the late Queen Mother´s favourite race. It is one of those races in which the condition of the jockeys is more important than that of the horses, and much as we would like to see Guy Disney (who has an artificial leg) win it on Tom George´s Ballyalia Man, we do not really believe it. He is in any case held on latest CD form by Loose Chips (Charlie Longsdon/ Sally Randell), whose jockey has a good record here. However the team to watch is Paul Nicholls and Jody Sole, who won this 2 years ago with Merrion Square (now ridden by Harry Wallace), and they now have an excellent chance of scoring with Howlongisasfoot.The amateurs are also in action in the opening race, a handicap hurdle at 15.20, and here again we think Jody Sole has good prospects on Tony Carroll´s Smart Catch, with Kastani Beach (Seamus Mullins/ Erica Bridge), runner-up last year, again in with a shout. There are only 4 races left for the pros, but most of the top jockeys are here - McCoy, Geraghty, Fehily et al. McCoy can land a double for trainer Nick Williams on Greywell Boy at 17.35, trying to win this race for the third time, and Dolores Delightful at 18.10. There are 2 German-breds in the handicap hurdle at 17.00, the trickiest race of the day, Serienschock (David Pipe/ Tom Scudamore) and El Dancer (Lucy Wadham/ Leighton Aspell), both with decent each-way chances in an open race. The lightly-raced Lessons in Milan (Henderson/ Geraghty) and Ustica (O´Neil/ McCoy) are both moving up in grade and running in their first handicap, but both look progressive and are the obvious dangers.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Smart Catch - Benefique Royale - Cafe Au Lait
2. Race: Sirabad - Seven Nation Army - Rainman
3. Race: Howlongisafoot - Loose Chips - Ballyallia Man
4. Race: Lessons In Milan - Ustica - Serienschock
5. Race: Pearls Legend - Sands Cove - Morgan`S Bay
6. Race: Dolores Delightful - Quiet Candid - Desert Queen