Horse Racing Tips: Thursday’s Evening Card at Sandown Featuring the Brigadier Gerard Stakes

On Thursday, Sandown Park plays host to the Coral Brigadier Gerard Evening, where the feature race is run, fittingly, in memory of legendary jockey Joe Mercer.

A high-quality supporting card also includes the National Stakes, Henry II Stakes and Whitsun Cup Handicap so, with the weather in Esher set fair for the rest of the week, an enjoyable evening is in prospect.

 

6:15 Coral “Beaten By A Length” National Stakes

Plenty of unexposed juvenile talent on display and the draw may play its part, as it often does on the sprint course at Sandown. Ebro River is by top-class miler Galileo Gold, so may need further than 5 furlongs in due course, but only had to be pushed out to win on his second start at Doncaster a fortnight ago and remains open to significant improvement. He’ll need it, in this company, but has the plum draw next to the far rail and looks fair value at the odds on offer.

Selection: Ebro River (8/1 with William Hill)

 

6:50 Coral Henry II Stakes

Ocean Wind is clearly blessed with an abundance of stamina, having won the Cesarewitch Trial, over 2 miles 2 furlongs, at Newmarket last September. He has since risen 23lb in the weights, but his subsequent form, notably when beaten just a length by Stradivarius, at level weights, in the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot last month, bears close inspection. The form of his stable is a slight concern, but he acts on any going and is proving admirably consistent so, all in all, he looks a decent bet to add to his winning tally.

Selection: Ocean Wind (5/4 with William Hill)

 

7:25 Coral Brigadier Gerard Stakes (In memory of Joe Mercer)

Sir Michael Stoute has won the Brigadier Gerard Stakes 11 times in all, including five times in the last ten years, and his 5-year-old Sangarius is officially the highest-rated horse in the field, albeit by just 1lb. The lightly-raced Kingman colt unsurprisingly proved no match for Armoury in the Huxley Stakes at Chester three weeks ago, but faces nothing of quite that calibre here and can regain the winning thread. Soft ground holds no terrors for him and he has an excellent strike rate for a horse restricted to eight starts in a stop-start career.

Selection: Sangarius (6/5 with William Hill)

 

8:00 Coral Whitsun Cup Handicap

History Writer has recorded both wins in Britain over course and distance and returns to Sandown for the first time in nearly two years. He ran as well as he has done for a while when a never-nearer eighth, beaten 3½ lengths, in the Victoria Cup, over 7 furlongs, at Ascot earlier this month and, if able to build on that effort, doesn’t look impossibly handicapped. He is still 2lb higher in the weights than when last winning a handicap, but has plenty of form on rain-softened ground and returning to the Esher venue could prove to be a shrewd move on the part of connections.

Selection: History Writer (10/1 with William Hill)

Relevant news